


New Beginnings

by Providence7979



Series: A New World [4]
Category: Terminator (Movies), Terminator: Dark Fate
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Lesbian Sex, Light BDSM, Medical Procedures, Movie: Terminator: Dark Fate, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Temporary Amnesia, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:41:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28527156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Providence7979/pseuds/Providence7979
Summary: For almost as long as she can remember, Grace Harper has been driven to safeguard humanity, to fight for the Resistance, and to protect the Commander. But what is Grace’s purpose, where does she derive her inspiration, if she can’t remember who she is? And what if Dani is the reason for her missing sense of self? Dani and Grace venture further east to explore Legion territory, they encounter old enemies, new allies, mysterious strangers, and life altering surprises. But they do so, very much apart, for now. One trying to grapple with the future her own machinations have created, the other trying to find her place in a new world that is so very unfamiliar to her. Can Dani put things right before it’s too late? And, can Grace ever forgive her?
Relationships: Grace Harper & Dani Ramos, Grace Harper/Dani Ramos
Series: A New World [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986139
Comments: 15
Kudos: 33





	1. Prologue

***

Dani was loath to attend the special social gathering tonight, but the Committee heads in Texas as well as William and Evelyn had made it clear that her attendance was not optional.

They were spending two days in Laredo, before swinging past Huston to load up on supplies from the well-stocked distribution centre, then travelling onto the purpose built outpost just east of Dallas which would serve as their new home until the mission was over.

It was closing in on February but the Laredo leadership decided to host a community celebration as a way to both welcome the imminent arrival of spring, and to wish the Commander and her team luck on their new, and hopefully final, mission against Legion.

She sipped on her beer and made a mental note to add semi regular shipments of the relatively new beverage to their outpost. Beer was a luxury that the new world was just beginning to enjoy again thanks to a relaxation on a fraction of the wheat distribution, and the freeing up of personnel and warehouse space to create Prosperitas’ first brewery. She smiled as the cold beverage made its way down her throat. It was certainly gentler on her stomach than the tequila she’d become accustomed to, and definitely easier to make and store than the wine in their stockpiles. She felt the buzz it was giving her and decided that it would also be much kinder on her head in the morning than the Base made bourbon.

She stood by the podium after having given a speech minutes before and watched the festivities around her. She smiled at the noticeable lightening of the Settlement’s mood since the last time she’d been there, just after the war had ended. It may have only been a year, but it would seem that people embraced peace and new freedom much more quickly than they did conflict and restrictions.

She knew the war with Legion wasn’t quite over yet, but she had confidence that this last mission would see them victorious. And it seemed as though everyone in the Settlement shared that same confidence. Music ebbed back and forth, bonfires lit up the skies, drinks flowed freely, and the smell of charcoal and woodfire wafted in the air, carrying scents of all the variations of food being prepared around them.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Evelyn wrapped an arm around Dani’s waist and bumped her hip playfully.

Dani smiled, and turned to her friend.

“Hmmm. I was just thinking about how much everyone deserves this.” She raised her beer and pointed the nose of the bottle out to the crowd of people gathering at tables around them. “To be relatively carefree. To feel protected and safe. To be able to celebrate like this. It’s long overdue Eve.” She mused.

Evelyn nodded and looked at Dani, holding her gaze for a moment before speaking.

“You know they’re here for you right?” She stated and Dani scoffed.

“Hardly. They’re here for the food and the alcohol, and to have fun.” She smiled but ducked her head, knowing that Evelyn wasn’t finished yet.

“Oh, no, no no.” she said in an almost sing-song voice, “they are only able to celebrate like this because of everything you’ve done up until now Dani.” She raised an eyebrow and waited for Dani to acknowledge her.

“Well. Everything we have all done then.” Dani countered.

“Touché.” Evelyn smiled and clinked the neck of her bottle against Dani’s.

The two stood in companionable silence for a moment before Dani’s stomach made itself known and Evelyn laughed.

“Come. I told William I’d bring him back at least three hamburgers.” She rolled her eyes playfully. “We should get a couple while we can.”

Dani smiled in return and they let their noses guide them towards the closest grill.

They were just about to join a line for food when Dani heard a laugh from behind her and gasped. She stopped in her tracks and her heart leapt in her chest. Her eyes went wide, and she looked directly at Evelyn first to see if she’d imagined it, but Evelyn was looking over her shoulder with a look of equal surprise on her face.

It was Grace’s laugh. Dani would have known it anywhere.

She spun around in stunned silence and caught sight of Grace walking past them from the direction of the barbecue. She was laughing and joking with the woman in her arms as they playfully kissed and made their way back toward the tables with food in their hands. 

Grace’s blonde hair was just brushing the top of her shoulders now, partly pulled back but still unruly as some of it stubbornly escaped the hair tie. She was wearing jeans and a loose long-sleeved shirt. She looked different, softer in many ways, but she was still just as beautiful as Dani remembered.

Dani was so stunned at seeing Grace that she failed to move out of the couples’ way as they backed up into her.

Grace started and broke her kiss and turned around. “Commander!” Grace smiled in surprise. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.” She looked at Evelyn and her smile brightened. “Evelyn, nice to see you!” she quickly leant in and hugged the doctor warmly.

Dani quickly stepped out of the way and tried to get her mouth to function. Grace smiled again and touched Dani lightly on the shoulder. “It was nice to bump into you.” She laughed, and Dani couldn’t help but smile back up at her. She would never stop loving Graces laugh

“Anyway.” Grace said a little awkwardly and took a step away. “Enjoy your evening ladies. And good luck with the new mission Commander.” She said and began to walk off. Dani watched Grace retreat, the tall brunette wrapping her arm around Graces waist in a way that implied some form of ownership.

Grace suddenly stopped and turned around, and Dani held her breath again.

“Evelyn, if you’re here for a few days, we should have dinner?” She asked and Evelyn nodded eagerly as Grace smiled brightly and continued toward the tables. 

Dani watched them retreat for a moment and leant over and put her hands on her legs, her first reaction had been one of pure elation, and her second was one of fierce jealousy. And what she was feeling now couldn’t be described as a single feeling, she was absolutely shaken. As though somebody has picked her up by her ankles and tossed her through the air at a thousand miles an hour. 

Evelyn watched Dani watch Grace and placed a comforting hand on her back as Dani slowly breathed through her emotions and eventually righted herself.

“I thought she was supposed to be in Ohio?” She asked Evelyn without looking at her.

“She was” Evelyn answered quickly. “But she moved to Texas almost immediately, about three months ago”

She watched Grace take a seat next to the brunette and something about the way she moved made Dani take pause and pay closer attention.

Grace braced herself before sitting down, her hand shook almost imperceptibly as she raised the bottle of beer to her mouth, and there was a definite weariness behind her eyes despite the fact that she was obviously enjoying herself. She rolled her shoulders back and adjusted her position twice before settling, as though discomfort was a common annoyance, but one she didn’t pay much attention to. When she laughed, she wrapped an arm loosely around her torso, unconsciously bracing her ribcage. Her loose-fitting blouse initially hid it, but Dani could see now that Grace’s body mass had reduced over the months since she’d last seen her. Her cheekbones, a little more pronounced, her jeans a little looser.

She sighed sadly. To Dani’s familiar eyes, Grace looked unwell.

“She’s in pain Eve.” She said in quiet surprise.

“Oui.” Evenly answered softly and Dani looked up at her in question.

“She never became fully proficient at tempering her pain response via her microprocessor, and I couldn’t figure out a way to force it without hurting her”

Dani closed her eyes and nodded. Of course, she wouldn’t have learnt to dampen her pain properly. This Grace had no memory of going through the brutal training necessary for Augments to learn to manage injuries and dampen associated pain. Dani remembered that training session, the one they’d fought terribly about. It had left Grace bleeding and unconscious on the arena floor with several broken ribs, a puncture through her left shoulder, and several deep shrapnel injuries, but each injury taught her what her limits were and how to control her neural response to them. It also left her two days in the Augment Chamber and had almost ended their friendship. Dani sighed.

She watched Grace pull out a small bottle of pills from her pocket and dump two in her hand before chugging them down with the beer she was drinking.

“She’s medicating?”

“She has to.” Evelyn answered quickly. “She’s living with chronic pain now, so we supply her with the medication she needs.” She looked down at her friend and felt her heart break all over again.

“Why wasn’t I told?” Dani asked, still watching Grace.

“You explicitly told us not to Dani.” Evelyn answered. “But William, Stephanie and I have been keeping tabs on her.”

Dani nodded. “Okay. So, I’m asking now.”

Evelyn nodded and took a breath. Knowing that what she was going to share would be hard for her friend to hear.

“Before she was discharged, she managed to get her pain dampening response up to around 70%, so she isn’t feeling the worst of her old injuries, but she’s still feeling enough to warrant high dose, long-term, narcotics. We have her on a long acting transdermal patch which, with her metabolism, lasts a couple days at most, and she takes a fast acting oral dose for break-through pain.” She paused watching the tall blonde down a shot and open another beer, she was handed a smoke from her girlfriend and took a long drag, holding the drug in her lungs for a moment before letting it go, letting both the women observing her know that it was a joint.

“And apparently marijuana and alcohol too,” Evelyn she sighed sadly. 

“Jesus” Dani whispered and sat down heavily. “What is she doing? Where is she working?” she asked after a brief pause.

“She has a bit of a transient life here. She lives mostly between Laredo and the Dallas outpost working double shifts in the solar farms across the state doing repairs and maintenance. She works two weeks on and then she takes two weeks off and goes away”

“Goes away? To where?” Dani asked quickly with a frown on her face.

“We don’t always know Dani” Evelyn looked down at her friend and smiled “She has a boat down at Galveston that she takes off on sometimes. Sometimes she borrows a truck and packs some camping gear and we don’t see her until she’s back a week or two later. We don’t routinely monitor non-operational Augments, so I’m not sure where she goes”

“And it doesn’t worry you? That she just disappears for a couple weeks every month?”

Evelyn shrugged “Not really Dani. She’s a grown woman, and she knows that she’s supposed to keep within the safe zones.” Evelyn smiled slightly, knowing Grace’s penchant for ignoring rules. She saw the concern on Dani’s face and tried to reframe the news.

“Dani, you have to remember that she’s still adapting to some major changes, not just to her physical body and her psyche, but also to her new life. Four months ago she woke up thinking she was a high school science teacher only to learn she was an Augment soldier, and now she has to find her new place given the body and the skills she has, but it doesn’t stop her innate personality from trying to let itself be known. If I was her, I’d be a little unsettled too” Evelyn paused and glanced at her friend, “the only difference is that I’d know why.”

Dani nodded and looked at the floor. Grace was a born protector. An incredible soldier and a natural leader. She was whip-smart, extremely adaptable and almost always brimming over with curiosity and enthusiasm for anything around her. She had always had a restless energy about her but being a medic and a soldier, she’d been able to feed that energy well enough to keep her sated. Dani imagined that this Grace still carried that same restlessness, but without her memories, she’d perhaps still be trying to figure out her true place among this new world.

“So, she’s working in the solar fields?” Dani queried again. Thinking it an odd choice for the woman she knew.

“She’s still trying to figure out what she wants to do long term. But for now, the solar fields keep her busy. It’s hard work, but it’s flexible and lets her have her own time when she wants it. Also, she wanted to be able to use the strength and endurance provided by her augments to help the Settlement. And despite the issues she has with pain, she still manages to churn out about 30% more work than anybody else on her crew” Evelyn said proudly.

Dani smiled.  _ ‘still competitive’ _

“She mostly flies under the radar here, which as an Augment can be pretty difficult. But she’s well liked and well respected here Dani. She’s a hard worker, and her contributions are noticed, but she’s reserved and generally keeps to herself. She’s dating,” Evelyn noticed Dani’s eyes dart to the woman with Grace and sadden, “but she isn’t seeing anybody with any regularity or frequency,” she quickly added and looked over at the table where Grace was.

“She might look settled and very much a part of the community here Dani, but I can assure you that she’s still seeking. She’s still the curious, introspective, deep thinker we both know.” Evelyn smiled and Dani smiled too, wiping away at the tears that burned behind her eyes.

Dani pulled at the sapphire around her neck and struggled with the emotions running though her.

“And the woman” She felt slightly ashamed by the tone of jealousy her voice carried, but she couldn’t rid herself of it.

Evelyn smiled a knowing smile.

“Alex. She’s a nurse at the hospital here. She and Grace met two months ago”

Dani clenched her jaw and nodded.

Evelyn turned to face her friend.

“Dani, you know I love you and think the world of you. But you know as well as I do that a woman like Grace was never going to be without a lover for very long.” Evelyn smiled as her French sensibilities came to the fore. “But I have a sense that Grace and Alex are simply two woman enjoying each-others company for the time being.”

“Grace told you this?” Dani asked in surprise.

Evelyn tilted her head back and laughed.

“No Dani. Of course not. But I can tell,” she winked at her friend and Dani couldn’t help but laugh in turn.

Grace heard laughter and looked up, caching a glimpse of Evelyn and the Commander standing where she’d left them not long ago, still deep in conversation. She observed their obvious closeness, and oddly found herself wondering if the two women were lovers, or if they had been.

She thought back to her teenage years not long after Judgement Day. She had admired and been infatuated with Dani since being rescued by her as a teen, and seeing her now, almost twenty years later made her realise that those feelings she’d developed all those years ago were definitely still strong, and definitely not a teenage crush anymore.

The Commander was beautiful, and she contrasted with Evelyn in a way that made Grace pay keen attention to them. Dani was breathtaking, dark, powerful, and fierce, and Evelyn was lighter in both appearance and mood, accomplished, driven, and just as gorgeous.

Grace’s mouth became suddenly dry thinking about them as lovers, and she took a swig of the cool beer. As she downed it, she saw a flash of Dani and Evelyn together in bed, Dani straddling the tall doctor, a look of rapture on her beautiful face. She had to pause and force her throat to swallow as her stomach curled powerfully with arousal.  _ ‘What the fuck? Was that a memory?’  _ she wondered or just her very vivid imagination. 

She took another long pull of her beer and an absent-minded drag of the smoke, feeling it pull at her, when she suddenly had a very clear recall of a much more recent memory. The day she woke up in the hospital four months ago and Dani was there, right at her bedside. She had forgotten because she’d been heavily medicated, and she hadn’t seen the Commander since, but now she recalled how the Commander asked her if she knew her. How there had been a hint of reservation and fear around the question.

She pulled on her drink again and wondered if perhaps the Dani she had dreamt about last night was  _ this _ Dani, the Commander. She half laughed, half sighed as the absurdity of it dawned on her  _ ‘just another unanswered question’  _ she thought, and made a note to herself to ask Evelyn about a Dani/Danny she may have known in her past.

Alex squeezed her thigh and Grace came back to her surroundings, smiling into her dark brown eyes. She leaned in for a kiss which deepened and lasted for long moments, leaving them both breathless.

“Come back to mine?” Alex whispered and kissed Grace’s neck.

Grace nodded quickly, her desire ratcheting up as the combination of the alcohol and the weed made her desire feel a little out of body.

Alex smiled widely and finished her drink before pulling her tall lover up from the table. She felt a strong arm wrap around her as they made their way through the crowd toward her quarters.

***

Dani watched the interaction and her chest hurt. She bowed her head and let out a breath, thinking about the last four months and how empty and lonely they’d been for her, how she had made her way through each day emotionally empty, without her anchor.

Actually, emotionally empty wasn’t correct. She’d let anger and resentment and grief fill her up and drive her almost every waking moment. She’d mobilised the taskforce in record time, and they were now on the brink of the next assault, hopefully the last ever, against Legion. And as the end of all the planning and preparation drew nearer, as Hadrell and his Spec-Ops team began to take over the reins, she found herself once again feeling untethered and lacking purpose.

She watched Grace leave with the beautiful woman in her arms, she saw the familiar flush of arousal in Grace’s cheeks and neck and felt a stab of jealousy and regret so strong it took her breath away.

She leant forward again, not wanting to watch Grace in the arms of the other woman, but not being able to think of anything else, and knowing that it was her own actions that had created this very scenario made the bile rise in the back of her throat.

She waited until Grace and her new lover had disappeared from sight before speaking. 

“I made the wrong decision,” Dani said more than asked. She spoke it quietly without looking up at her friend.

“Oui” Evelyn answered immediately “It wasn’t your decision to make Dani.”

The words stung and Dani nodded sadly and placed her hand over Evelyn’s thigh. “I’m sorry I was so hard on you.”

Evelyn hugged her close “It’s okay Dani” she kissed her cheek “Believe me, if it had been William, I’d have probably lost my mind. So, I understand.”

They spent a minute in silence and they thought about the journey they’d all taken over the last few months. Eventually Dani spoke, almost inaudibly.

“She has a life here.” Dani said softly.

“ _ Merde!” _ Evelyn stood up “It’s barely been four months Dani! It’s not too late to tell her the truth! Let her decide which life she wants for herself. She’s earned that at the very least!” Evelyn felt her familiar anger rise and tried to even her breath, knowing that Dani had her reasons for doing what she’d done, and that no matter what, that couldn’t be taken back. Her friend finally seemed to be coming around to the truth now, and despite the awful timing, Evelyn knew that was all that mattered. 

Dani put her head in her hands as her body started to react to the emotions inside her. All it took was one accidental interaction and she was a complete wreck. She breathed through the rise of emotions trying to take hold, and Evelyn placed a comforting hand on her back until it passed as she’d done quite often these last several months.

Dani felt sick at the thought of finally telling Grace. Afraid of disrupting what life she had managed to build for herself here on the Settlement, and terrified of what she’d do or say, or worse, what she’d think of her once she found out the truth. 

But at the same time, Dani was still very much afraid of everything she’d been afraid of before, of Grace being in constant danger if she was with her, of actually truly losing her forever one day.

“I can’t just come in and disrupt her life here Eve.” She said.

“You need to give her that choice Dani.” Evelyn replied. 

Dani nodded and sighed heavily, looking back up and catching a glimpse of Grace’s retreating back and feeling her heart fill with trepidation and just a little bit of hope.

They stood in silence for a little longer before Evelyn spoke.

“Dani, you’re going to have to make first contact with her.”

Dani nodded quietly “I know. But not now. After the mission is complete.”

Evelyn pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. This was the furthest Dani had come to admitting her mistake, and Evelyn wasn’t going to push it now.

“Let’s get that food shall we?” She suggested and moved closer to the barbecue line with a smile. 

****

Grace had been driving for close to three hours. She had finished the repair and installation of the new panels she’d been commissioned to do at the Dallas outpost a day early, so she decided to head back to the industrial stockpile in Huston ahead of schedule rather than hang back at the outpost for an extra day.

She was looking forward to the next two weeks off and had planned on taking her boat out to explore more of the old abandoned coastal towns between Galveston and Pensacola. She’d been taking small trips every couple of weeks trying to lose herself in her explorations. She didn’t really have a goal except to learn more about what the world had looked like before Legion. She realised that her teenage memories only informed her to a point, and that she had no memory of travelling outside of Seattle as an adult.

There just seemed so much more to explore, and with the strength and endurance her implants provided her, the gruelling trips across unsealed roads, stormy seas, and dangerous terrain were relatively easy for her.

She was drawn from her musings as she neared a rise and noticed an old van parked along the side of the road, and an old man standing along-side of it trying to wave her down.

Grace smiled to herself and pulled over, happy for the distraction on what had been an uneventful trip so far. She jumped out of the truck and nodded at the man, looking past him at the beat-up old van he was driving.

“Need a lift?”

The man squinted and his lip quirked. To Grace, it looked like he was trying to smile, but it wasn’t sitting naturally on his weathered face. Something about him made her uneasy and his next words confirmed her instincts.

“No.” He deadpanned back, his voice heavily accented “I need those solar panels in the back of the truck.” He said matter-of-factly. “Give them to me”

Grace swallowed and her mouth turned dry from the sudden rush of adrenaline. She stood back and sized him up in a few quick seconds. He was about the same height as her, much broader and heavily muscled, but his creased face and grey hair and beard told her that he was at least several decades older than her, and certainly not an augmented ex-soldier. She smirked to herself. As much as she didn’t want trouble, a part of her was also itching to let off steam, and far be it for her to discourage an old man looking to do a stupid thing.

She crossed her arms and nodded, a dangerous smile playing on her face.

“I can’t do that,” she replied evenly.

“Yes, you can.” He answered back and stepped toward the truck.

She closed the distance quickly and grasped his arm, stopping him from undoing the strap.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” She said in a dangerously low voice.

He pulled his hand away with surprising speed and shot it back out, pushing her back a step.

In response to the blow, her augments surged to life and her irises flashed an iridescent blue. She clenched her teeth as her temper flared, and she swung at the old man’s jaw, connecting with a bone crushing blow. Pain flashed through her hand and up her arm, taking her breath way. At first, she didn’t understand why the man was still standing. She looked at his chin where she’d struck him and saw the torn skin, then she saw the shiny metal substance underneath. Her eyes widened as she looked at her own fist and saw that the blow had also exposed the dermal mesh under three of her knuckles.

She cursed and immediately brought up her usually dormant RD. She cursed again, this time audibly as her augments showed her what she’d failed to see. His body was made up of an array of metal, actuators, wires, and chips. There was nothing organic about him except for the skin covering his body.

So taken aback was she that she barely reacted when he grabbed her shoulders and tossed her hard against the passenger side of the truck, winding her as she crumpled to the ground.

“Stay.” He ordered and began to undo the straps holding the solar panels down.

Grace felt new pain begin to radiate through her body and she grit her teeth against it. She pulled herself back to her feet, keeping one hand on the truck to steady herself.

“What the fuck are you?” She panted and tried to command her shaky legs to keep her upright.

“Cyberdyne systems model 101” he stepped forward “But my friends call me Jacob”

“You’re a ……” She didn’t quite know how to finish the sentence. He wasn’t a Rev, that was clear, but he also wasn’t an Augment.

“Terminator” he finished for her “Yes. But I’m not what you think”

Grace internally acknowledged the absurdity of having a conversation with a terminator on the side of a road, in the middle of nowhere.

“I don’t care what you are. I can’t let you take those” She breathed and pushed herself toward him.

“I don’t want to hurt you” He said evenly, and Grace could tell he was sizing her up.

“Believe me,” she said quickly, “nor do I.”

The terminator almost smiled. He nodded almost imperceptibly, and Grace all but growled as she launched herself at him. She thought that with her Augments activated properly she’d be able to take him, perhaps incapacitate him long enough to call for the army to come deal with him.

For a moment she let herself believe that some of her Augment soldier training might come back to her instinctively, that perhaps some long dormant ability would resurface and help her.

But as her body neared his and he deftly sidestepped her only to follow through with a choke hold that put her on her knees. At that moment she realised the idiocy of her situation. She should have called for help before engaging him.

_ ‘stupid!’ _

“I said that I didn’t want to hurt you.” The man said flatly.

Grace felt his muscular arm tighten around her neck and she tried to use her strength to fight him off. She scratched at his arm and felt some of his organic skin come away under her fingers. Her stomach turned, but she kept clawing at him.

“Stop.” He ordered, but when she didn’t, he squeezed his arm a little more.

Grace’s ears began to ring and her mouth opened but she couldn’t drag air into her lungs anymore. She felt her body stop responding to her orders and the last thing she remembered before she passed out was the sound of a young girl’s voice.

“Jacob! Let her go right now!  _ Suetala! _ ”

Then her world went black and her body sagged heavily against his.

***

_ ‘Fuck’ _

She felt the ground beneath her and the breeze blowing around her and tried to figure out what had happened. As memories came rushing back she gasped and found her feet right away, readying herself for a fight.

But the road around her was quiet. The van and the old man were gone. She looked at her truck and swore. The three remaining solar panels had been taken. But she was alive, and her truck was still here. And she couldn’t quite figure out how that had happened.

She’d heard of the existence of separatist militias across the border in parts of Arkansas and Mississippi, but there hadn’t been reports of any local groups causing trouble. Especially no reports of any types of assaults or thefts.

“Fuck!” She spat out loud and ran her fingers through her hair angrily.

She moved toward the cab of the truck and as she did her boot struck something on the ground. She bent down and picked up the canteen and the orange.

She turned the canteen over, and saw that the word ‘sorry’ had been etched into the paint on the metal surface.

“What the fuck?” She muttered to herself.

Then she remembered the voice of the girl she couldn’t see, and the terminator named Jacob who was much more powerful that she was, and she wanted nothing more than to get off the road as soon as possible. She reached for the handle of the door and her hand started to shake. Her RD flashed before her vision and she sighed audibly.

_ ‘Stage 3 crash imminent, meds required’ _

“Oh, for fucks sake!” she growled angrily. She reached around to the back of her jeans and unclipped the small punch from her belt. Taking out the rarely used med-gun, she tried to remember the instructions she’d been given. She loaded the cartridge and depressed the trigger against her denim covered thigh and waited a minute for the message flashing before her eyes to cease.

When it did, she jumped into the cab of the truck and started the engine, sparing a moment to be grateful that the old man … machine … whatever … hadn’t taken the vehicle and left her out in the open with no way out.

She pulled the radio from its cradle and pressed the push-to-talk-switch.

“Laredo, this is SC20, come in” she waited a moment before there was a crackle on the other end of the line.

“SC20, this is Laredo, how can we help? Over”

She took a breath and depressed the button again.

“Laredo, I’m requesting a military presence at my location, on the old i45, about 40 clicks north of Houston. Over”

There was a crackling silence before the man came back on the line.

“Can you tell us what happened SC20? Over”

Grace sighed but tried to speak calmly and clearly.

“I was ambushed on i45 by a terminator who stole the contents of my truck. Over”

This time she rolled her eyes because she heard how absurd it sounded. And again, there was an almost deafening silence before another voice, this time female, came on the line.

“SC20. Repeat your last. Over”

Grace pursed her lips and depressed the switch again

“I’m requesting military assistance. I’ve made contact with a terminator. Over”

***


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grace's encounter with the new terminator leads her to Laredo and to Dani.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems as though a New Year brings with it new inspiration. 
> 
> This is the beginning of the fourth instalment in the New World series. Most of the plot and characters will be unfamiliar unless you’ve first read Grace’s Sacrifice and First Contact, and while you’re doing that, why not enjoy a little angsty Prologue by way of In My Mind’s Eye. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this continuation of Grace and Dani’s story. And, as always, comments, suggestions and feedback are always welcome, and very much appreciated.

Grace squinted against the increasingly insistent pain behind her eyes. She rolled her neck and groaned quietly as her vertebrae shifted and cracked back into place, resetting themselves against the tension which had built up over the last few hours.

Dani sat back in her chair and watched the tall blonde sitting across from her. She saw the weariness behind those blue eyes and the tension behind the way she held her body and she quietly wished she could ease her discomfort somehow. She silently apologised to Grace for the obviously stressful evening, but she couldn’t deny that it was good to see her again, to actually be able to talk to her after so long.

“I’m sorry Grace, I know we’re asking a lot from you, but we really need to make sure we have a record of everything that happened. Both, what you can recall, and also what your RD might have recorded.”

“And this is necessary?” Grace asked dubiously, looking between the screens on the wall and the auxiliary probe being handed to her.

“Only if it’s okay with you, of course.” Dani replied evenly and honestly.

The last thing she wanted was to cause Grace more discomfort than she had already been through, and she would request an adjournment if Grace needed more time or had concerns of any sort. Dani had to admit that she was also a little afraid of what she would see on Grace’s RD because, when she had read Williams brief report, and her heart seized in dread. Grace may have come face to face with a potentially deadly enemy, she should have been killed, but she had been left alive for some reason. Dani’s guts roiled at the dozens of other outcomes that might have occurred, but she kept settling herself each time by looking across the table to where Grace was seated; safe, confused, and a little shaken, but completely well.

Grace nodded and looked down at the small probe that Evelyn held in her hand, then sighed wearily. She looked back up to the room full of mostly strangers and felt an odd sense of vulnerability creep through her. She’d never accessed her recorded memories before, but now she found herself considering not only doing it for the first time in front of strangers but projecting those memories onto screens for everybody to see.

But when her eyes landed on those of the Commander, she couldn’t help but nod in acquiescence. The Commander was watching at her with a look she could only describe as a mixture of kindness, guilt and fear, and Grace, not knowing a single reason why the most powerful person on earth would be feeling either of the two latter, wanted nothing more than to assuage those emotions.

She never stopped to analyse her reaction. Instead, she consoled herself with assurances that if she did this, then the night must surely be almost over. She would be allowed to get some food, and some rest and a shower soon enough. Surely?

The solar crew security team had scrambled to pick her and her truck up and she was quickly taken to the Laredo base where she’d spent the better part of two hours verbally going over and over the encounter on the highway. First with an unknown member of the Prosperitas solar farm security team, then within minutes she was retelling the story to Major William Hadrell and a few other military personnel who had all but rushed into the room. William greeted Grace with a wide smile and familiar handshake, but there was a deep concern behind his eyes. He expressed relief that she was safe after the encounter but stressed the importance of gathering as much information as possible, as quickly as possible. From that moment on, the man she knew as her friend became every inch the military general he was. 

Glad at the very least for familiar face in the room, she thought the interview would go quickly and smoothly, but as she recounted the incident she watched as his face took on an increasingly serious look, his shoulders began to stiffen incrementally, and she knew that she was going to be in for a much longer night than she had hoped for. After her second run-through and a barrage of questions from the military personnel in the room, William excused himself and left the interview room, which by this time was beginning to feel more like an interrogation room to Grace.

After a few minutes Grace was being ushered into a larger conference room to start all over again, this time with an even bigger audience. But, as soon as she walked in, she caught sight of Dr Evelyn Beraud, and Grace allowed herself to let go of some of the tension rolling around her stomach. Both Evelyn and William had proven themselves friends to her over the last several months, and despite the obvious seriousness of the situation, she knew she could trust them both.

She started when her gaze landed on the Commander, sitting at the head of the conference table. Her dark eyes were intensely trained on her, and Grace had an odd sensation of the rest of the room suddenly fading away into the background. Leaving her alone in the room with the Commander, which interestingly, she didn’t find distressing in the slightest. She’d never interacted with the Commander in any significant way as an adult, but something told Grace that just as she had trusted her with her life as a teenager in that dirty car park, she could trust her again, now, in this moment.

She had been the leader of the Resistance, beloved by many, feared by some, and respected by all. And now, after the success of the war with Legion, she was the undeniable face of Prosperitas, and beloved by many many more now that she was allowing herself to be seen outside of her military persona.

However, this was definitely the Commander who sat at the head of the table tonight. And despite the warmth in her eyes, and the sense of ease she conveyed, Grace was under no impression that this meeting would be anything other than one with a serious military agenda.

Grace came back from her musings, looked down at her friends’ hand, and took the probe from Evelyn, swallowed a deep breath, and inserted it into the small port near her temple.

“You have full control over what your RD shows us Grace.” Evelyn spoke, seeing the hesitation and uncertainty in Grace’s face. “Just close your eyes, access your recording, and take it back to just before your encounter. When you’re ready, send the video to the screens and you can pause or replay as you need to.”

Grace nodded, and closed her eyes as instructed. Her RD flashed up brightly behind her closed lids and she did as instructed. Fascinated to watch the last half day play in high-speed reverse before her eyes. Silently thinking of all the other dates and events she wanted to go back and replay now that she knew she could.

“You’d be surprised what your implants record that you may not have consciously registered” Evelyn continued. “A licence plate, a tyre tread, a physical trait, a scar or tattoo, something you might not have been able to recall under normal circumstances, but something that could potentially help up us ID and locate the terminator you saw”

Grace got to the point in her recording just before she came across the van on the side of the road and paused it. She opened her eyes and allowed the new AV connection to have access to her feed, and in less than a second the paused image that had just been in her head was suddenly up on the screens in the room. She felt immediately exposed and on display and sat up straight in her chair, her discomfort clearly evident in her posture.

Dani and Evelyn saw that discomfort and exchanged worried glances. Evelyn reached down, out of sight from everybody else in the room, and grasped Grace’s hand which was tightly wound around the armrest. She squeezed lightly and tried to silently convey her support to her friend.

Dani silently exhaled a relieved breath along with the one she saw Grace release. Her knowing eyes watched the small muscles work along her jaw, she caught the almost imperceptible nod Grace gave herself, and Dani’s heart filled with a burst of pride and tenderness that almost took her breath away. She knew how hard this whole process must have been for this version of Grace, but the innate parts of her personality, her inner strength, her determination, her desire to help, and her need to not give into fear, were all coming to the forefront right now, allowing her to put aside her discomfort and do what needed to be done to help Prosperitas.

Dani cleared her throat imperceptibly and swallowed hard against the surge of emotion she felt toward Grace in that moment, reminding herself that her resolution to tell her the truth about what she had done would likely drive Grace further from her. She had to push those musings aside for the time being though.

She had decided to hold off revealing the truth to Grace until the new threat from Legion had been dealt with, so for now, her immediate priority was to address any obstacle that interfered with that objective. And right now, that obstacle was the appearance of this mysterious terminator right in the middle of their latest campaign to rid themselves of every last trace of Legion. The cynic inside of her, the one that had been enthusiastically nurtured by Sarah, was hesitant to believe it was a coincidence, so for the time being her focus had to be on the information Grace was about to give them, and how it would affect the plans they had put into place to identify and eliminate the last of Legion.

Her attention was drawn to the screen as the recording started playing.

Grace was driving along the highway, a grey van was pulled over on the side of the road in the distance and Dani could make out a lone figure standing beside it. A large man with grey hair and a beard.

Unconsciously Dani’s hand drifted to the small hidden pocket in her pants and found the ever-present butterfly knife. She pulled it out and flicked it open in a kinaesthetic gesture familiar to everybody in the room, except one.

Dani pushed her chair back and stood, beginning to pace behind her side of the desk. Her eyes never leaving the screen, and her wrist never stopping the complex pattern of twists and flicks that sent the small blade spinning in her hand, punctuated by the gentle rhythmic clack of metal on metal.

Grace heard the sound and felt a powerful sense of dejavu wash over her, so much so that she took her eyes from the screen and focused on the Commander, trying to place exactly how and why that sound was so familiar to her, and why she found it both soothing and endearing. Her stomach started to flutter with a sense of recognition, but the revelation kept flitting just out of her grasp, and all too soon, her own voice on the screen redirected her attention.

_ ‘Need a lift’ she’d left her truck and was approaching the van when the man/terminator came into view. _

“Carl?!” Danis voice rang out in surprise and she stopped her movement abruptly.

_ “No, I need those solar panels in the back of the truck. Give them to me.” The voice was emotionless and heavily accented. _

_ “Mierda!” _ Dani swore and embedded her blade in the desk, her mind immediately assaulted with memories of her first encounter with Carl. This man looked and sounded exactly the same as he had. Perhaps a little older, but exactly the same otherwise.

“Merde!” Evelyn echoed at the same time. Having been told many stories about the terminator named Carl who helped Dani, Sarah and the other Grace defeat the Rev-9 over 20 years ago, she felt as though she had known him. So as soon as she heard Dani utter his name, her own surprise became more animated.

“Grace, can you freeze the feed please.” Dani requested gently, trying to keep her voice calm while approaching the closest screen.

Grace did as requested and watched both Dani and Evelyn react to the image of the terminator on the screen.

“Fuck.” Dani swore after a moment.

“What does this mean, Dani?” Evelyn asked, obviously confused.

Dani shook her head and looked at Evelyn silently. Eyes wide, matching the confusion in her friends.

“Commander?” Hadrell spoke eventually. Obviously Dani and Evelyn knew something about this terminator, which was confusing in itself. But if they had intel to share, he and his team obviously needed to know.

Grace’s eyes flicked from the Commander, to Evelyn, to the screen, then to Hadrell, and then back again. The odd sense of familiarity which had fluttered in her stomach moments ago suddenly came back. She felt like she’d seen the three colleagues interact like this before.

But there was also a growing sense of nervous anticipation in the room, and Grace shifted in her seat, unsure what further reaction her recording would elicit.

Dani shook her head and took a step back, seeming to snap back to herself.

“Major. I’d like to see the rest of the recording before drawing any conclusions. I’ll share what I can, in a few minutes, okay?”

“Commander.” He nodded in acknowledgment.

Dani looked back at Grace and gave her a gentle nod which she returned before continuing the feed.

_ “ _ _ I can’t do that.” Grace said confidently. _

_ “Yes, you can.” He stepped toward the truck and the video showed Grace move toward him and grasp his forearm, trying to stop him.  _

_ “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” She warned. _

_ The man shoved her hard and the image jolted as Grace took a backward step. _

Dani clenched her hands and felt her pulse skyrocket. Grace had engaged with the machine, completely unaware of the potentially deadly threat he posed. She had to look at the tall blonde in her seat to remind herself that the images on the screen were being replayed, that Grace was safe and healthy right in-front of her. But her stomach churned painfully a second later when Grace’s fist connected powerfully with the terminator's jaw.

_ After the strike, Grace’s focus went from the man’s jaw, to her hand, and back again. There was evidence of the impact on them both, and there was exposed metal on them both now too. Her knuckles shining from the bio-mesh now exposed under her skin. His chin flash metal underneath and immediately the image on the screen became an overlayed display of Grace’s X-ray vision as she activated her normally dormant RD and looked back at the man. Taking in the machinery underneath. _

“Pause.” Dani ordered.

The room immediately filled with gasps of surprise and worried murmurs. Hadrell and Evelyn both stood and moved closer to the screens to get a better view. The image on the screen was clearly not human, but also clearly not a Legion Rev. At least not one any of them were familiar with.

“Biological exoskeleton, almost the same as human skin.” Evelyn mused out loud, clearly impressed.

“I don’t understand what we’re looking at Commander?” Hadrell spoke. The question was clear in his voice.

There was a loud silence in the room and everyone looked at Dani expectantly, but she glanced at Grace and gave her another nod, asking for the feed to continue.

_ The image lifted and tumbled as Grace was picked up and tossed aside by the machine. _

_ “Stay” _

_ Grace caught her breath and steadied herself. “What the fuck are you?” she panted. _

_ “Cyberdine systems model 101. But my friends call me Jacob …” _

_ “You’re a …?” _

_ “Terminator. Yes. But I’m not what you think.” _

_ “I don’t care what you are. I can’t let you take those” She moved towards him, her RD displaying his height, weight, body composition, and what force would be required to move him. _

_ “I don’t want to hurt you” He warned. Clearly performing his own assessment of her. _

_ “Believe me,” nor do I.” _

_ The terminator nodded slightly, acknowledging the inevitable fight. And Grace charged at him. _

Dani spared a glance at Grace, hardly able to believe she had tried to single-handedly take on the machine. She knew how powerful Carl had been, stronger than the Grace from her past, and certainly able to sustain more damage to his body than she had been. But this Grace, minus the tactical skill and full strength of an Augment soldier, had challenged this deadly opponent seemingly without concern.

There was a part of Dani that was filled with awed pride, but there was also another part of her that burned hot with anger. Grace could have got herself killed. And for what. A few solar panels? She clenched her jaw and swallowed the words before they had a chance to leave her mouth. There would be time for admonishments later. Besides Grace hadn’t done anything anybody here in this room wouldn’t have. Herself included.  _ ‘but she’s not a soldier anymore!’ _ her inner voice screamed at her, and she crossed her arms and rocked on her heels to try and reign herself in. She closed her eyes briefly before the rest of the scene played out. 

_ The terminator deftly sidestepped Grace’s charging body and wrapped his arms around her. The image dropped as Grace landed on her feet, and the stats flashing on her RD clearly told everyone that she was in a choke-hold. _

_ “I said that I didn’t want to hurt you.” _

_ Grace tried to grapple with him, and clawed at his immovable arm, pulling away chunks of his skin. _

_ “Stop.” He ordered clearly, yet still without emotion. It was almost chilling. _

_ It was clear that he had tightened his hold, intending on ending the struggle, because her respiratory rate had all but stopped and her oxygen saturation was dropping quickly. _

“Goddammit.” Dani almost choked. Her legs had turned to jelly and she sat down heavily in her seat.

Grace was also beginning to feel a little ill watching the footage replay. Living through it in real time was very different to replaying it and seeing just how many ways things could have gone wrong. She knew she was lucky to be alive, and she still didn’t know why he’d left her. She could almost feel the burning in her lungs and the hear the ringing in her ears as she watched the struggle from her perspective.

But instead of the screen going black, as her mind recalled. It continued to show the events that transpired, and she sat up straight as her feed began to show her new details she hadn’t actually consciously registered as her body started to give out.

_ The sound of the van door opening could be heard, followed by rapidly approaching footsteps. A pair of very worn blue sneakers appeared on the screen. Equally worn black denim jeans covered the parts of the legs she’d managed to capture. An adolescent by the looks of it. _

_ “Jacob! Let her go right now! Suetala!” It was a girls voice. _

_ The footage tipped and rotated as Grace’s body sagged to the ground. Her RD showed an immediate increase in her oxygen intake meaning that the terminator named Jacob had released his hold on her. The vision hadn’t stopped or cut, which meant that Grace was still somewhat conscious. _

_ “No killing. Remember.” The girl spoke firmly, a tone of admonishment in her voice. _

_ “She’s not human.” Jacob replied matter-of-factly. _

_ “She seems pretty human to me.” Came the quick retort. _

_ “Compared to me, most would.” He replied. Their interaction appeared relaxed, almost common. Like the banter between two family members. _

_ “You load up the panels. I’ll make sure she’s okay.” The girl all but ordered. _

_ “It’s almost dusk. We need to get off the road.” Jacob replied. _

_ “I know Jacob. Don’t worry, we’ll get back in time.” She answered. _

_ Jacobs' boot covered feet passed Grace’s field of vision, headed towards her truck. The blue sneakers came into sight again then disappeared as the girl moved behind her. The image tilted and it was obvious that Grace’s body was being repositioned safely onto her side. Then the disembodied voice of the girl came through the recording. _

_ “I’m sorry lady. We need those more than you do, but still, he shouldn’t have hurt you.” _

_ The blue sneakers came back into focus and the girl crouched down in front of Grace and placed a canteen of water and an orange close to her. She then paused and placed her small hand somewhere on Grace’s body, judging from their positions, her shoulder. Her arm moved slowly and deliberately, following a path. And it was clear that she’d noticed the Augment scars on Grace’s body and was interested in them. Her hand eventually followed a path to Graces face and her thumb gently traced the scar beneath her eye. _

_ “Ellie.” Jacobs' voice called out and the girl turned around “Let’s go.” _

_ “Coming.” She called out. _

_ The girls’ movement had caused her to shift Grace’s face ever so slightly, and as Ellie turned back around, her face appeared on the screen. She looked directly at Grace for a moment, her face curious and friendly. _

_ “You’re pretty.” She said with a genuine smile.  _

_ She pushed herself up and soon the image on the screens was an unfocused horizon. The sound of two doors closing and an engine starting came through, and as the engine became more distant, Grace's recording went dark as she finally blacked out. _

Grace paused the footage. She had no memory of the last part of their encounter and it left her feeling even more shaken.

“Shit.” She breathed.

“Grace.” Dani spoke gently, seeing how affected Grace was. “Can you take the recording back to the girl, the moment her face comes into focus?”

Grace nodded and swallowed. Quickly finding the moment on the recording and letting the image display in the screens.

Age was a hard thing to gauge since the war. Kids grew up quickly and took on more responsibly because of the world they lived up in. However, their physical growth could sometimes be stunted because of lack of nutrition. Ellie looked about twelve, but of course, that was just a guess. She had long dark hair, dark eyes, and wore clothes that looked well worn but not dirty.

“Jesus.” Evelyn blew out a breath. “She’s just a kid. What is she doing travelling with that machine?”

“She could be a machine too.” Hadrell replied quickly.

And the room became silent again. They all knew Rev-9’s could mimic humans at any age. Dani had experienced that first- hand at the celebration in Seattle when they discovered three Rev-9’s infiltrators.

Dani shook her head. “No. I don’t think so.”

She leant forward in her chair and thought about what she was about to share before her eyes landed first on Grace, then on Evelyn.

“A few years before Judgement Day, I met a Terminator almost exactly like this one. Same build, same features, same voice. His name was Carl.”

Grace saw Dani’s face soften a little.

“He’d been sent back from his future timeline to stop a specific event from happening. And once his mission was completed, he began to live as a human. He had a home, a job, and a family. Of course, the family was not biologically his. But he cared for them in his own way.”

Dani looked up form her musings and saw every pair of eyes on her. She sought out the ones she wanted to see, and found encouragement in their calm blue depths. So she continued.

“When I was living in Mexico, a Rev-9 was sent back in time to try and kill me. To stop the Resistance. But obviously that never happened.” She let a small wry smile lift the corner of her mouth.

“I had my own team of protectors around me. A soldier that the Resistance had sent back in time to protect me.” Her eyes landed on Grace again but quickly shifted away.

“A warrior from my timeline who had spent over twenty years hunting and killing terminators.” She shared a small exchange with Evelyn, the only other person in the room to have ever really known Sarah.

“And Carl, the T800 from a different timeline who had built a life in mine and decided to help protect me in order to save it.”

She let the room digest the information before continuing.

“Carl had told us that several Terminators had been sent back at the same time to carry out the same task. Obviously, all fail-safes for each other. I never thought to ask if he was the last one. But seeing this … Jacob … I think it’s safe to say that Carl wasn’t the only a Terminator to take up a more human-like existence once their mission was over.”

She stood up again and approached the screen with Ellie’s face on it.

“Carl spent twenty years learning how to be more human. Being the same model, with the same objectives, form the same timeline, I imagine this Jacob has likely spent the last forty years doing the same. And judging by his interaction with the girl, he appears to be a protector of sorts, the same as Carl was. Possibly for a group of survivors we’ve been unaware of.”

She turned back to the room.

“I need a team focused on finding these two, and whoever they’re with. We need to find out why they needed those solar panels, and we need to find out which side Jacob is on.” She glanced back over her shoulder. “Although, from the footage, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to work off the assumption that neither of them is Legion.”

“How do you figure that?” One of the engineers on Evelyn’s team asked.

Dani’s eyes landed on magnetic blue again.

“Because they wouldn’t have bothered asking for those panels, and they wouldn’t have left Grace alive once they had them.”

Grace swallowed hard and held the Commanders gaze.

William watched the exchange with interest and shared a knowing look with Evelyn. He cleared his throat and addressed the room.

“Right. I’ll have drones deployed to try and locate that van, and if it’s okay with Grace, we’d like to get a copy of that footage for our forensic team to comb over, see if they can find any more information to help us?”

Grace turned her attention toward William and nodded quickly. She took a small storage device that Evelyn handed her and placed it where the AV probe had been. Following the doctor’s quick instructions on copying the data to the new device.

“Okay. That’s it then.” Dani spoke clearly, signalling the end of the meeting. “The major and Dr Beraud will assign everyone tasks by tomorrow morning. For the purpose of consolidating knowledge and resources, we’ll be coordinating this mission with our Dallas operation, especially considering the location of the encounter, and the upcoming deployment of our new drones.”

Everyone in the room acknowledged the Commanders instructions and began moving off in their own directions.

Grace felt Evelyn’s hand wrap around her forearm again and she turned to face her.

“How are you feeling?”

Grace blew out a breath and smiled. “A little overwhelmed to be honest.”

“Well, I’d be surprised if you weren’t.” Evelyn returned her friend's smile. “You did really well tonight. And I’m so glad that you’re okay.”

“Ladies.” Dani came over to the seated women and interrupted them.

“Commander.” Grace sat up straighter and addressed her with a smile.

Evelyn smiled at their easy exchange and quietly excused herself.. She knew that Dani had decided to reveal her truth to Grace after the mission was complete, so she wasn’t exactly sure what Dani was going to say to Grace right now, but she knew Dani would want to express her gratitude and her concerns in someway, and Evelyn was more than happy to give them some time alone together to do that. 

Dani sat next to Grace and placed a had on her arm, in the same way Evelyn had done. But it felt different to Grace.

“Grace, please. Call me Dani, okay?” She asked gently and held Grace’s eyes.

Grace nodded quickly. “Right, Dani. Sorry.”

“I wanted to thank you properly for being patient with us tonight. I’m sure it wasn’t how you expect your evening to go.” She quirked her lip and Grace returned it.

“Not in the slightest.” She laughed, and Dani relaxed in turn and sat back. Taking Grace in as she did.

“Tell me. Why did you challenge him?”

“What?” Grace queried.

“Jacob. You’d have been well advised to just step aside and let him take what he wanted. There’s never an expectation for anybody to put themselves in danger unnecessarily. But even more so once you’d identified him as a machine. Why did you choose to challenge him rather than let him take what he wanted?”

Grace dropped her gaze and thought about her answer for a moment. When she looked back up, the look in her eyes made Dani’s heart clench. It was a look she remembered well.

“Do you remember me Dani?” She asked quietly, almost hesitantly. Pulling her lip between her teeth in a familiar gesture of uncertainty and self-doubt that made Dani want to wrap her up and chase those doubts away. Instead, she reached out and grasped Grace’s hand between hers, nodding gently. She knew exactly what Grace was asking.

“Si. I remember. Not too long after Judgment Day, in that old, abandoned car park. You were a teenager.”

Dani blinked against the sting in her eyes. She was being assaulted by not only the memory of the event they both remembered, but the memory of the last time Grace, the young medic, had asked her this same question with the same almost wounded look in her eyes, wanting nothing more than to be heard and understood.

Grace nodded. “Right. She locked eyes with Dani again. “Well, I might not remember anything from the last ten years, but I do remember that day. I remember promising myself that I would do anything I could to become a part of the Resistance. I remember wanting to help. And I remember wanting to protect you one day just like you did for me.” She smirked and Dani couldn’t help but smile at the image of a lanky but determined adolescent Grace protecting the leader of the Resistance.

“Well, I still feel that way really. I want to help the Resist … sorry … Prosperitas however I can. I know that I used to be a soldier, so I obviously chose to follow that path once already.”

Dani nodded sadly to herself.

“I saw that he was a machine, I thought he must have been Legion, and that he wanted something that belonged to Prosperitas. I thought that stopping him and detaining him was a better option than letting him get away with those panels. Obviously, I didn’t think it through clearly, I was just reacting. But my intent was the same as I assume it’s always been; to protect us from them, to keep Prosperitas safe.”

Dani let go of a breath and shook her head slowly.

“Well. As brave a thing as it was. It was also kinda stupid.” She lifted her brow and waited for Grace to acknowledge the truth of her statement. When she did with a small nod and a smile, Dani continued. “Thank you for your bravery, and for thinking of Prosperitas Grace. But I ask that if there is a next time, you keep yourself safe first?”

There was a brief silence as Grace thought about Dani’s request and grinned.

“I can promise you that I’ll try?” She lifted the edge of her mouth in a grin, knowing she’d do the same again.

Dani laughed and held out her hand. “Well. That’s all I can ask.”

Grace took it and shook it firmly.

“Deal.”

They sat together in the now empty room in companionable silence for a moment before Dani’s stomach let itself be known, causing both women to chuckle.

“I can help with that.” Grace stood up and signalled Dani to follow her. “I know a place to get the best late-night burrito this time of night.”

Dani laughed and suddenly felt very much in the mood to spend time with Grace over a meal.

Grace stretched her back and rolled her shoulders unconsciously, suddenly feeling every second of the last day in her bones.

“God. I could really use a beer right now” She chuckled and blew out a breath, referring to the scarcity of the beverage outside of large community celebrations.

Dani smiled at the tall blonde and took pity on her. She leant in conspiratorially and whispered.

“I can help with that.”

The smile Grace treated her with made Dani willing to go brew the beer from scratch if it meant being able to please her like that again. She sighed internally and rolled her eyes as she followed Grace out of the building.  _ ‘Commander, my ass. You’re in so much trouble Ramos!’ _

She sobered momentarily as she remembered that she was in fact going to be in quite a lot of trouble in the not too distant future. She shrugged, tomorrow was going to come around no matter what she did, so she decided to just focus on appreciating her time with Grace tonight. 

With that thought in mind she noticed the emergence of a nervous energy which settled itself in her stomach. An energy she hadn’t felt in a very long time, excitement almost, and she picked up her pace.

Grace led Dani toward one of the 24/7 kitchens that tended to the shift-worker population on the Laredo base, happy for the unexpected company over the late night meal. She felt the smaller woman draw level with her and she found herself glancing down and taking her in unobserved.

_ ‘She’s really beautiful’  _ she mused, then rolled her eyes.  _ ‘She’s also the Commander for Christ’s sake!’  _ She smirked and shrugged to herself,  _ ‘the two states of being are not mutually exclusive, dumbass.’ _

With that thought in mind she pulled on the door to the kitchen and held it open for Dani, suddenly thankful for the incredible turn of events that found them here in this moment together. She felt a foreign flutter of nerves in her stomach as Dani passed her and their arms brushed. She drew in a breath and appreciated just how nice this particular type of nervous excitement felt, smiling to herself before following Dani inside.

***


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still a very slow burn between Dani and Grace.   
> A bit of world-building, and character introductions and re-introductions.   
> We get to learn who Ellie and Jacob are.   
> Dani is still struggling ... A LOT ... with her decision to hid the truth form Grace. A bit of angst, but not an unbearable amount.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to set myself a goal of writing a chapter every 3-4 weeks. This one got delayed as I got side-tracked with an unexpected flash of inspiration and wrote a 'little' one-shot in another fandom.   
> Thanks for your patience, and I will hopefully get the next chapter out sooner. The pace is starting to pick up in the story, and it makes writing it much more engaging.

**

It wasn’t until Dani sat down at the table with Grace, burritos and beers in hand, that she realised what she was doing, and all of a sudden her stomach protested, and she didn’t feel like food anymore. She took a long pull of the beer instead and hoped that the alcohol would help settle her.

She had walked into the dining hall with Grace wanting to spend time with her, to get to know this version of her better, but as they sat down together at the table, the thought occurred to her that this version of Grace only existed because of what she’d done. And as she sat across from the beautiful former soldier, she felt as though her deception was oozing out of her pores for everyone to see. Her stomach which had been filled with nervous anticipation mere minutes ago now ached almost painfully with guilt, and she thought that perhaps it was best if she tried to extricate herself.

“So, how long will you and Evelyn be in Laredo for?” Grace asked around a mouthful of food.

“Hmm?” Dani turned from her musings and faced Grace only to be met with those crystal blue eyes, and such an open, curious face that it made her want to look away. She cleared her throat and took another swig of the cool beer, trying to talk herself down from just standing up and running as far from here as her legs could take her.

“Uuhhh.” She blew out a breath “I think we’re going to aim to be at the Dallas outpost tomorrow to start ramping up the new surveillance project. I think your encounter has lit a fire under the team and we want to try and pick up any trail we can as soon as possible”

Grace nodded and finished off the last of her beer in several long chugs. Dani’s lip quirked in a small grin over Grace’s appreciation of the beverage. She discreetly turned to the kitchen and caught the eye of the chef before holding her beer up, silently asking for another.

She didn’t often use the privilege her title afforded her for her own gain, but for Grace, she would almost always make exceptions. She thought back to their first delectable private meal together, and all the sugar filled surprises after that, that Dani had procured for her chocolate-loving partner. The pleasure she derived from watching Grace enjoy the rare luxuries made Dani much more inclined to bending the rules every now and then.

The fresh bottle of beer arrived a few moments later, and Dani swallowed her grin as she watched Grace’s eyes widen in surprise before a smile broke across her face and she looked questioningly at Dani.

“I figured you could use another, after the day you’ve had.” Dani explained simply.

Grace scoffed an acknowledgment and picked up the bottle, lifting it in a gesture of thanks toward Dani.

“I should hang out with you more often, Commander.” She grinnen, her voice dropping slightly, and her eyes narrowing suggestively. And Dani knew all too well the subtle look that Grace was giving her.

She felt a familiar warmth wash through her and an involuntary blush crept up her neck as she averted her eyes, trying to busy herself with her own food while she warred with her body’s automatic but somewhat unwelcome (at least for now) reaction to Grace. She found herself chuckling silently, grateful that at the very least, Grace wasn’t wearing her usual army fatigues and tank top.  _ ‘God help me’  _ she sighed in thanks and then mentally rolled her eyes and groaned silently as an extremely detailed image of Grace in said uniform flashed into her mind’s eye.

For her part, Grace was a little surprised by how easy it was for her to be relaxed and so forward with the leader of the known world. In some ways, it felt like she’d known Dani for most of her life, and truth be told, she had. But in most ways that counted, Dani was a relative stranger to her.  _ ‘But, why does this feel so natural?’ _

“So, tell me about your work here Grace?” Dani asked as she tried to change the tone of the conversation, and if Grace noticed the sudden redirection, she didn’t let it show.

“It’s not glamorous.” She smiled self deprecatingly. “But I enjoy it. It’s physically challenging, which means I get to put some of my implants to good use. And it can be quite technical, needing a mix of problem solving and mental agility, which means I get to keep exercising the grey matter as well.”

Dani grinned and encouraged her to continue.

“The Laredo Solar Crew run 24/7 rotating shifts across the solar fields from here to Dallas and across the northern borders, and part of my job is to help with the new installations.” She nodded towards Dani. “Like installing that small array at the site of your new Dallas outpost. Making sure the panels are up and running before the site actually needs them, ensuring the inverters are banking enough electricity to run the site, and making sure that they are sending the excess to our substation in Huston for collection and storage. And if an array goes down, it’s part of my job to respond and repair it as soon as possible, to replace it if it can’t be fixed, or to decommission it and build a new one.”

Dani’s eyebrow raised in surprise. She was impressed.

“Sounds like you’re doing the job of an engineer, and electrician, a technician, and a foreman?”

Grace laughed gently and nodded in agreement. “The responsibility and the autonomy is what makes the job rewarding. That, and the super flexible work roster.”

Dani tilted her head in question.

“Well. Like I said. I get to use my augments to complete a lot of work in a short amount of time. The combination of my increased physical capabilities, my reduced need for rest, and the 24-hour nature of the Solar Crew, means that I can choose to work long days, get a lot more done during those days, and in turn, I get a lot of down-time to myself.”

Dani’s ears pricked up and she recalled what Evelyn had said about Grace working a two-week rotating roster. Getting two weeks off during which, she would apparently disappear, and Dani, unlike Evelyn, was not 100% convinced that Grace was using that time strictly according to regulations, nor keeping inside protected Prosperitas zones.

“Tell me more.” Dani asked simply. Enjoying seeing Grace squirm a little under her attention.

Grace realised her over-share a second too late and swallowed nervously when she saw Dani’s eyebrows raise in question. She finished off most of her beer in a long swing and brushed her suddenly sweaty palms on her jeans.

“Well.” She began. “I work two weeks of double shifts, which means 18 hour days, fourteen days in a row. I can sustain a much higher workload than is normally scheduled for each crew, and I don’t often need a partner with me which again frees up more manpower to do other work. So because I can match the productivity of at least two people, and because I can keep up that pace for a long time, I managed to receive two weeks off work at the end of my two week roster. It’s a win-win for the Solar Crew and for me.” She explained briefly hoping Dani wouldn’t dig for too much information.

The last thing she wanted to do was explain to the Commander that she often used her free time exploring restricted zones as far north or east as she could get. In fact, her two-week furlough was due to start today, and she had even more daring plans this week which included trying out her recently scavenged and newly refurbished motorcycle. She’d already packed her bags with a tent, food, and water, and she planned to head out at first light. But she couldn’t rightly tell Dani any of that because, what she wanted to do tomorrow was test out her augmented visual capabilities to see if she could pick up the trail of the Van she’d encountered on the highway. And something told her that any trail she might pick up would not be ending within protected zones. 

Dani noted the brief flash of excitement wash across Grace’s face but also took note of the lack of detail Grace had given her about her two-week furlough periods, she also noted the taller woman’s obvious hesitation to elaborate. So, she promised herself to give her as much privacy as possible. After all, Grace was now a private civilian, not bound by rules of the military in any way. But at the same time, she wanted to know that Grace was being safe.

Well. As safe as an Augment with an insatiable sense of curiosity and a penchant for getting herself into trouble could be. 

“Two weeks furlough for every two weeks of work, hey?” She raised her eyebrows in appreciation. “That sounds almost too good to be true.” She quirked her lip into a mischievous grin and leant forward, almost enjoying seeing Grace a little off balance. “Whatever do you find to occupy yourself with for those two weeks, Grace?”

Grace averted her eyes for a moment, feeling slightly caught-out under the Commanders’ dark gaze, but she barely skipped a beat before a surge of bravado made her take a chance. She leaned back in her chair, dipped her head to look at Dani through slightly hooded eyes, and smirked suggestively.

“Now, Dani.” Her smile deepened. “What do you think I might occupy myself with?” her eyebrow raised high in question.

Dani hadn’t been expecting the suggestive rejoinder and her mind instantly flashed back to the pseudo holiday she and Grace had taken at the end of the war. Her head filling with extremely explicit images of what they had managed to occupy the majority of their time with.

To her horror she could feel heat start to snake up her neck to her cheeks. She broke eye contact with Grace’s amused eyes and sat up straighter, clearing her suddenly very dry throat. She was very aware of the gentle pull of arousal low in her belly and knowing how easily intoxicated she could become around the beautiful woman in front of her, she very much needed to divert the flirtatious tone the evening was taking. Again.

She could tell that Grace was on a mission to seduce her now, and as tempting as it would be to let herself be swept up, and as much as she wanted Grace back in her life, Dani knew that pursuing anything more than a friendship with her now would be wrong on so many levels. And really, she hadn’t yet convinced herself that pursuing a friendship with her was all that right either.

She knew that she had to tell Grace the truth and she knew that the truth would likely turn Grace’s world upside down. She knew that she would have to give her all the time and space she needed to decide what she wanted to do with that information, and what direction she wanted her life to take after that.

So, everything Dani did between now and when she told Grace the truth had to be void of her own agenda and of any of the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring and deception she’d engaged in over the past several months. It also had to be void of any misleading behaviour or mixed messages when it came to her own attraction to Grace. Of course, she had never stopped loving her, or wanting her, and she’d been existing for the last several months as though half of her soul had been missing. But she couldn’t share any of that with this Grace, she couldn’t seek solace from the one woman who could give it to her. Because the reality was that she didn’t feel like she deserved it, at least not unless Grace decided she did.

There was no doubting that she stood a good chance of losing Grace once the truth came out. But if she were to stand even the slightest chance of being invited back into her life, in whatever capacity, she had to make sure the foundation she laid now was one based on genuine friendship, and nothing more.

She couldn’t undo the hurt and the damage she’d already caused, and she couldn’t ignore the fact that she might cause even more by delaying revealing the truth until after the next mission. But she could do her best not to complicate that hurt by encouraging any type of romantic involvement between them before Grace knew the whole truth.

This entire train of thought took Dani mere seconds to filter though, so that by the time she looked back at Grace she caught the look of playful seduction still firmly affixed on her beautiful face. She sighed internally, deciding that the only course was to diffuse it with blunt honesty.

“Touché.” She tilted her head in deference “What you do in your down time isn’t any of my business Grace.” She finished with a kind smile.

Grace knew she hadn’t mistaken the sexual tension she had felt between them, so the Commander’s answer surprised her. But as she quickly reassessed the woman across from her, she noted that the flush that had coloured her skin moments before was now gone. Her eyes were calm and clear from the desire she was sure she’d seen in them seconds ago.

She frowned internally, not quite understanding the sudden change of energy. Never one to hide her feelings, she opened her mouth to cut through the innuendo and ask Dani outright if she could interest her in an actual date.

“Dani, I …” she began but was quickly cut off.

“Commander! Captain! I thought that was you” An excited male voice called out to them.

Grace looked up and found a friendly pair of brown eyes taking them in with a sense of familiarity.  _ ‘Captain’  _ She had caught his use of the title she used to possess and realised that he must have known her before her accident.

Dani’s heart leaped in her chest, her eyes opened wide in surprise and then in fear. She almost stood up from the table to pull him away but realised how much more unwanted attention that would bring.

“Major Alvarez!” She kept her seat and prayed that he wouldn’t say anything too revealing in-front of Grace.

The man smiled indulgently “Mateo is fine ma’am, we’re all off-duty here”

“Si.” She nodded “Mateo. How are you? I didn’t realise you were in Texas now?”

“Just temporarily ma’am. Bruce wouldn’t know what to do with himself if I transferred here permanently.” He leant in conspiratorially “Personally, I think he’s just jealous because he thinks I prefer the food here to the Arizona Base. But honestly,” Mateo tapped his belt with both hands “My waistline couldn’t take the type of pampering he likes to dish up.”

Dani grinned “Nobody’s waistline could stand up to Bruce’s talents, Mateo.”

“True that.” He agreed and laughed.

Dani saw glance toward Grace to ask her something, and she quickly interjected.

“So, what brings you to Texas?”

“You haven’t heard?” Mateo frowned slightly. “Dr Yeo put my name forward for the Medical Officer position up at the new Dallas outpost.”

Dani’s stomach dropped, but she nodded quickly and smiled.

Grace watched the exchange quietly and took note of Dani’s discomfort and of the Major’s familiarity with her.

“I haven’t read through the personnel files yet, but that’s wonderful news.” She said genuinely. “We’ll be better off for your skills that’s for sure.” She broke eye contact as she played through gruesome memories of how he’d worked tirelessly over Grace’s dying body, and how he’d been the one to find the bloody storage device she’d hidden on herself, the one that had ended the war. So wrapped up was she in her recollections that she failed to interject the second time Mateo tried to address Grace directly.

“And you Captain Harper?” He queried in just as friendly a tone. “I assume you’ll be heading up a Spec-ops team of your own in Dallas?”

Grace was a little caught off guard. It was obvious that the Major knew them both, so she hadn’t expected him to be unaware of her medical condition.

“I … uuhhhh.” She scratched the back of her neck and tried to think of how best to answer him.

For his part, Mateo was definitely picking up on the almost uncomfortable and very platonic dynamic that existed between the Commander and Captain Harper in that moment. Whatever it was, the Commander seemed terrified to bring it up. He couldn’t read the Captain as well, but she seemed almost hesitant, not sure of her place among them, nor of what he was referring to.

“To be perfectly honest, Major.” Grace leant forward and lowered her voice as though about to reveal a secret. “I’m going to need you to reintroduce yourself” she winked and kept speaking softly.

“Apparently I hit my head one too many times a few months back, and not only can I not remember how to properly operate this new body of mine, I can’t remember much of the last decade.” She grinned broadly and Mateo, and despite the shock he felt at her news, he couldn’t help but return it.

He glanced at the Commander and saw the brief flash of grief wash over her face, and a realisation struck him. Grace didn’t remember who the Commander was to her, and for some reason the Commander didn’t seem to want for her to know.

His years as the son of an enigmatic, emotionless, and often unreadable father, had taught him the invaluable art of reading between the lines, of predicting situations and appropriate responses, and most importantly, to listen to his intuition and to use either discretion or avoidance as a default if he was unsure.

Being a doctor had reinforced that habit of discretion or avoidance. It had taught him that patients required discretion without ever having to ask, and that sometimes family members and friends would use both as a form of protection.

He noted the guileless way in which Grace held herself around them and could feel the fear and discomfort radiating off the Commander and decided that this was one of those moments when he simply didn’t need to involve himself, nor did he need to seek answers to the many questions floating around his head. At least, not yet.

He straightened his spine, held out his hand, and winked back at Grace.

“Major Mateo Alvarez, at your service Grace.” she grasped it and smiled back at him. “I met you, once, almost a year ago during a medical evac. It was a genuine pleasure to have served during that mission.” It was the truth, it was concise, it didn’t reveal too much, nor did it invite direct questions.

“Major.” Grace nodded, accepting his answer at face value. She wanted to pick his brain a little more but sensed that now wasn’t the time. “It’s nice to meet you … again.” She grinned.

As much as her stomach was churning with anxiety, Dani couldn’t help but smile at their interaction. She silently thanked Mateo for his kindness and his uncanny ability to read the situation and respond with respect and discretion.

Mateo turned to Dani and nodded “Commander. I’ll be seeing you in Dallas, no doubt?”

“I look forward to it Mateo.” Dani nodded back.

And with that, Mateo excused himself and moved deeper into the dining area to forage food for himself.

Dani watched Grace watch Mateo as he left and saw the desire to know more written plainly all over her face.  _ ‘Soon.’ _ She thought to herself and leant back in her seat. She was glad to have spent the last few hours getting to know this Grace a little better. But the direction tonight had almost taken had proven that it wasn’t something she should encourage.

It was hard enough trying to redirect or ignore the almost gravitational pull they seemed to have towards each other. But trying to find a balance between building a friendship all while keeping her secret from Grace while  _ also _ trying to keep a lid on their chemistry which seemed to have a life of its own, could be too dangerous a game to play.

She had to silently shake her head in surrender at the turn of events the last few days had taken. From bumping into Grace at the Laredo festival when she was supposed to be in Ohio, to being called into the emergency briefing after Grace’s chance encounter with the terminator, to accepting an invitation to share a meal together. It seemed that despite all her attempts to distance them, fate, as always, had other plans and it seemed as though their paths were going to continue to intersect no matter what she did.

Surrendering to the fact that their lives were inextricably interwoven was, surprisingly, the easy part for Dani, she’d spent over twenty years being both guided and propelled by that sense of ‘knowing’ when it came to Grace. But, letting fate take its course when it came to telling Grace the truth, well that was a whole other beast, she was delaying it by force of will, but she could see that it was also just an inevitable as the connection they had once shared. She could delay it, she could try to redirect it, and she could try to ignore it. But it  _ was _ going to happen. 

The chance encounter with Mateo, and the questions it would undoubtedly raise for Grace made it clear to Dani that she had to try to keep them distanced for just a little while longer. Until this last part of the war was over, and she could shake off any other distractions and focus solely on trying to repair the damage she had caused and would cause between them.

She cleared her throat and stood up. Surprising Grace with the abruptness of the movement.

“Well.” She tucked her hair behind her ear in an unconscious gesture. “I should be getting back to my quarters.”

Grace took a moment to process before blinking and standing as well. “Right. Sure.” She wanted Dani to stay a little longer, but she didn’t know what to say to keep her there, so she shoved her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels. A gesture of uncertainty that Dani was all too familiar with. 

Dani held out her hand and smiled warmly. Her smile deepened when Grace instinctively grasped it and she breathed deeply as they made their first intentional physical contact between each other in months. She took in the feel of Grace’s warm, strong, hand in hers, and held it for a little longer than politeness dictated. 

“Thank you again for what you did out there today on the road, Grace. And for giving us your recount and access to your recording. I can’t tell you how invaluable all your information will be.” 

Dani caught Grace’s blue eyes and conveyed her sincere appreciation. What she really wanted to do was to step forward and wrap the taller woman up in her arms, but she settled herself with wrapping her other hand around the one already tucking in hers, cupping Grace's large warm hand in between both of hers and squeezing tightly. 

“Commander.” Grace nodded, then saw the way Dani almost rebuked her with her eyes and quickly corrected herself “I mean, Dani.” She said with a smile, which doubled when Dani returned it.

“Goodnight Grace.” Dani said with one last tightening of her hands before letting go and stepping back.

“Goodnight Dani.” Grace replied evenly. Quietly wondering why, the evening which had begun with such obvious nervous anticipation and flirtation, had ended so abruptly. 

She sighed heavily and rolled her shoulder as the ever-present tension headache started to get the better of her despite the two beers. Blowing out a frustrated breath, she reached into her pocket, pulled out her ever-present bottle of painkillers and emptied two into her palm before tossing them into her mouth and washing them down with the very last of her beer.

Dani caught Grace’s actions as she started to walk away and sighed heavily. Knowing Grace was always in pain was something that had been playing in the back of her mind since Evelyn had told her several days earlier. She felt a swift kick in her gut every time she thought of Grace needing constant pain medication just to live a normal life. But she also felt an immense sense of pride over Grace’s determination to live a normal life despite everything she’d been dealt. 

It all just added to the mounting reasons for her to get this mission over and done with as soon as possible. If she could maybe help Grace fill in some of her memory gaps, maybe Evelyn and the Augment training team could eventually take Grace through a more rigorous reprogramming regimen, help her properly master her microprocessor’s neural damping response so that maybe she wouldn't have to be reliant on the heavy narcotic treatment she was currently on.

The only reason she was taking such strong pain-killers now was because she couldn’t remember how to use her microprocessor properly, and the only reason she couldn’t do that was because she’d directed the Augment team not to retrain her as a soldier.

Again, she felt her stomach sink as she accepted the role she played in almost every aspect of Grace’s current situation, and as she walked out into the cool night air, she discreetly swiped away the angry tears that started to fall.

Grace watched Dani stride out of the dining hall, a multitude of emotions and thoughts running through her head. She hadn’t wanted their time together to end so quickly, but she also felt the Commander’s very clear desire to leave. She momentarily thought about seeking out Major Alvarez to get some information from him, but she also felt the fatigue of the day begin to pull on her. So she stood there, watching Dani walk into the night, she waited a beat before trailing behind her in the distance, veering off as she came closer to the entry to her own quarters. She grinned and bent to scoop up Oatmeal who was always somewhere close to the heavily trafficked area outside the residential quarters.

“At least one of us gets belly rubs and kisses tonight, hey little man?” She squeezed him close, still watching the retreating form of the commander in the distance. She smiled as he enthusiastically nuzzled her neck and pawed at her cheek.

“If it’s belly rubs and kisses you’re in need of, I’m sure I can accommodate '' came a soft voice from behind her. Grace spun around, barely containing a yelp as she did. 

“Alex!” she said in a slightly confused tone, before looking at her watch and realising the time.

Alex smiled and stepped forward, kissing Grace quickly and scooping Oatmeal from her arms.

“The whole base is buzzing Grace. I heard that you had one hell of a day. Are you okay?”

Grace nodded and kissed Alex back, this time a little longer, before the nurse pulled back and looked Grace in the eyes, noticing the dark circles under her blue eyes which were also distinctly red rimmed from what she guessed was a mix of extreme fatigue, and a recent opiate dose.

“Want to talk about it?” She asked. Knowing that the day had to have taken its toll if Grace had had to self-medicate. 

Grace reached back and squeezed the tight muscles of her neck, feeling the headache continue to pull at her despite the painkillers.

“Maybe later?” She asked and received an accepting nod and a strong arm around her waist pulling her close.

“Can I maybe interest you in a hot shower, a massage, and maybe some of those belly rubs then?” She raised an eyebrow suggestively.

Grace’s smile brightened immediately, and she let herself be guided towards the larger block of living quarters where Alex lived. 

“As long as the kisses are also included.” Grace quipped.

“Oh honey, that and more.” Alex replied suggestively.

Grace picked up her pace and Alex laughed.

“You are such a pleasure hound.”

Grace looked at Alex and smirked “Guilty as charged.”

Both women laughed as Oatmeal chirped loudly and swatted softly at Alex’s face, demanding the attention be brought back to him and the three quickly entered the semi subterranean warehouse residential structure. It was a large concrete bunker but had a distinctly non-warlike feel to it now. 

After the urgency of the first decade of the war had passed, the inside of the structure had slowly been redesigned and broken up into dozens of compact but comfortable private apartments, each equipped with basic amenities. Each apartment would be considered small in pre-war times, but now, they were almost luxurious. Almost as large in size as the Commanders own private Quarters in Arizona. 

Grace had decided to stay in the residential dormitories which were mostly populated with military personnel, the single residents, and the transient workers in Laredo. She didn’t have many belongings, and she didn’t have any real friends to entertain, plus her long hours, and long stretches of time exploring, meant that she was rarely home. So, a simple room with a comfortable bed, a small kitchen and a bathroom was all she really needed. Before the war, her current dorm would have jokingly been called a shoebox, but they were so common as to be considered ‘normal’ living quarters now.

But, every time Grace stayed at Alex’s apartment it made a part of her long for the time when she might re-discover more about the person she used to be, could maybe feel a desire to settle down, pick out furniture, decorate a little, host friends over for meals. 

Alex’s apartment was warm and inviting, open planned, filled with small splashes of colour and reclaimed furniture that reflected its owners taste.

Grace didn’t dislike her own quarters, but she hoped that one day she would know herself enough to actually pick a place she could call home, and to make her own living space reflect a sense of home like Alex’s did, rather than just pure functionality. 

Alex put Oatmeal down and grasped Grace’s hand, pulling her towards the bathroom.

“How about that shower and massage?”

Grace’s domestic musings were quickly wiped from her mind, replaced with a slowly building liquid warmth low in her belly. She grinned and deftly pulled off her t-shirt and did the same with Alex’s scrubs. She drew them together and sighed happily at the contact their skin made.

“When does your next shift start?” she asked between kisses.

“Midnight tomorrow.” Alex groaned as Grace nibbled on a sensitive spot high on her neck.

Grace smiled and flicked on the water, waiting for it to warm.

“Plenty of time.” She purred into the nurses ear.

***

Early the next morning Dani stood at the landing pad, waiting for her guests to arrive. She smiled as the Dragonfly banked and dropped gently down onto the giant X mere meters from her.

Her smile deepened as familiar faces disembarked and she ducked and trotted over to the aircraft.

“It’s so good to see you all! I hope the flight wasn’t too bumpy?” She gave Hector a quick hug before she quickly braced herself as Miles launched himself into her arms, she shifted him onto her hip and gave Serena a warm, one handed hug.

“Look, I can’t say that it’s my preferred mode of transport, but at least it was fun for Miles.” Hector grinned.

Dani smiled and began to lead them into Laredo’s operational headquarters.

“I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you agreed to be an ambassador for the outreach program Hector.” She said with genuine sincerity. 

“Well Dani. Considering my firsthand experience with the benefits of outreach program, I couldn’t rightly pass up the opportunity to try to help other communities like ours, now could I?”

Dani nodded. “As you know, I’d originally wanted to pause the program, but we continued to receive responses from the initial supply drops and welcome packages. People have been reaching out, so instead of pausing the entire program, I decided to just pause the expansion and integration of the communities but continue the parts of the program that don’t require actual face to face contact. I want us to continue to build rapport while we try to get rid of this last threat from Legion, that we can keep sending supplies if they’re needed until such time as we can actually send envoys out. There’s a lot that this outreach program can do remotely until the last of this war is over.”

Hector nodded his understanding.

“I can’t tell you how fortunate we are that Perseverance managed to get in touch with you before Legion re-emerged. I realise that we could have still received long-haul airdrops and kept communicating via radio, but the changes your teams of engineers and agriculture experts have made since putting their boots on the ground have been immeasurable.”

“I’m glad to hear it Hector.” Dani smiled warmly. 

In a world that had been consumed by war for two decades, it was rare for the best-case scenario to actually work out. And Dani was truly grateful that their first contact with a new community outside of their own had gone as well as she had hoped. The only enduring dark patch on their new alliance had been the discovery of the Legion virus, and the devastating consequences it had had on Grace and everyone who loved her. But Dani had to remind herself that had it not been for their presence in Hawaii, their weaponry and their knowledge of the Rev’s, Legion could very well have remained hidden and eventually launched an even more catastrophic, and perhaps even extinction level attack against what little remained of humanity.

It was a thought that brought small comfort, even though she knew it to be true.

She had greeted Hector and a small envoy from Perseverance at the Arizona base for what had originally been a recreational exercise approximately 4 months ago, just after Grace left the Base to start her new life in the Settlements, and Dani had used their arrival as a brief distraction from her grief.

She busied herself showing them around the Base, introducing them to their large scale agricultural and manufacturing practices, and taking them to the four Settlements so they could see how Prosperitas operated as a symbiotic collection of large satellite cities.

Hector had been so inspired that he had requested to stay on with his family and be a part of the outreach program in some way, to help other communities benefit in the same way his had. The only caveat to his request was that he didn’t want to remain on the Arizon base which was heavily militarised, and lacked the open spaces, domesticity, and large family feel that his home in Perseverance had. He wanted Myles to have children of his own age to play with, a school to go to, and other families to socialise with. And he wanted Serena to be able to choose a path for herself that wasn’t restricted solely to the vocations needed to keep a military base in operation.

Dani had eagerly agreed and had organised for his family to take up residence in Laredo and continue his work with the outreach program, liaising with the Arizona base remotely.

She showed them to their new quarters. One of the newer above-ground homes that had been built since the end of the war. After a lifetime of living in an open tropical farmland in Hawaii, she thought that one of the various underground living spaces would be too harsh an adjustment for them to make. So, she ensured they were placed in quarters close enough to the communication centre for Hector to do his job easily, and close to the nature preserves and parklands so that they all had easy access to a more familiar environment.

Two hours later Hector, Dani, William, and Evelyn were in a conference room, conducting a video conference with some of the other Committee members discussing their latest outreach contact.

Dani had originally wanted to make haste to Dallas to begin the new drone program, but since she happened to be here in Laredo, and since this was Hector's day, and first virtual conference, she wanted to be present to observe how the team members were managing the shift in outreach program.

“Tell me more about the most recent contact.” She began,

“It came in around 18:00 yesterday, Commander.” One of the Captains in Arizona spoke. “They identified themselves as a small community on the Yucatan Peninsula, a little south of Playa del Carmen.”

“What do we know about them?” Dani asked.

Hector cleared his throat. “If I may.” He looked at Dani, and she had to smile at his unfailing polite nature.

“I took part in the radio transmission with a man who identified them as their representative yesterday. His name is Theo, he was a US national who was stranded there when Legion first launched its attack. He said that between the Legion bombs and the initial panic migration of people to the centre of Mexico, that the Peninsula has essentially become a stranded, but self-sufficient island of sorts. No infrastructure exists to allow easy transport inland, the railroad was destroyed in the initial attacks, and the bombs that took out northern Belize, northern Guatemala, and Villahermosa made passage in and out of the peninsula virtually impossible. But he said that in a way, their isolation is what made their survival possible. He said that after the initial waves of death from the bombs, after the looting and the violence, after the disease, and starvation took more than two thirds of the population, those that were left divided themselves into two camps. One half decided to try to get to Cuba or Miami by boat, while the other half stayed to try and build a new life there. Much the same as we did in Hawaii” He said with a small smile.

“Because of the peninsula's being a tourist destination, there was a large North American and European tourist population that got stuck on Judgment Day along with a large population of Mexican Nationals. He was one of the many tourists that decided to stay.”

“Has he indicated a desire to continue to communicate or to eventually meet?” Evelyn Asked.

Hector paused and frowned.

“That's the strange thing. He asked a lot of questions about our intent to send envoys into Mexico. He wanted to know if we would force an alliance if they decided they didn’t want one. He wanted to know what kind of weaponry we had, and if we knew of any survivors from any of the boats that ventured to Miami.”

“So, he was more interested in our motives than in how we might be able to help his community?” Dani asked.

“It’s more than that. And it’s hard to explain properly. Perseverance wasn’t in trouble or on the brink of disaster when we first made contact with Prosperitas. But we were certainly starved for outside contact, and we could barely believe that the resources you had actually existed, let alone that you’d be willing to share them. Back when you and I first made contact, we were both intentionally holding our cards close to our chest. We didn’t want to reveal anything that could be used against us, but we both made it pretty clear that we wanted to form a partnership that would be mutually beatifical. We needed you help, and I had no issues with you knowing that, yet we were both still being reasonably cautions, even slightly deceptive if I’m being honest”.

Dani nodded. Recalling their early conversations. When neither of them gave much away, and when he had posed as the leader of his people when in fact he had been standing in to protect their real leader, Thalia. 

“With this Theo person, there was barely a mention of your alliance proposal. He didn’t bring up any of the items in the air-drop, he didn’t express surprise or gratitude, or really any real curiosity over the material contents. He didn’t suggest actually setting up a meeting. In fact, he seemed adverse to it. He seemed to me like a military leader trying to find an enemy's weakness, rather than a potential ally wanting to receive or extend a helping hand. I know it sounds idealistic, but humans have a natural desire to connect, don’t we? Especially with so few of us left. And your welcome package offered just that. It isn’t threatening, or aggressive, it doesn’t dwell on your technological superiority, nor does it suggest any kind of forced contact. Yet the way he was communicating seemed too guarded, almost defensive”

“Maybe they’re just happily self-sufficient, and want it to remain that way?” William offered.

“Maybe.” Hector mused.

Dani’s eyes narrowed.

“But?”

Hector took a deep breath.

“It’s nothing I can put my finger on Commander. I sense something bigger at play. I’d really like to talk to other members of his community, and when it’s safe, I’d suggest aerial surveillance, before we even think about engaging with them in any way.”

“Well, it sounds like they don’t want to engage with us, so perhaps there’s no need.” She replied. But her gut was sensing what Hector was trying to convey, and she trusted his experience as a community leader.

“It would seem like that on face value Commander. But then why ask about our intent to venture into Mexico if they decline our invitation? Why did he seem concerned that we may have communicated with survivors who had made their way to The States? Why did he stress on multiple occasions that it was virtually impossible to reach the peninsula now? He seemed to be being intentionally evasive but in a way to protect his own motives rather than to protect his people like I was doing when we first spoke.” He sighed. “Like I said, It’s just a feeling, nothing I can substantiate in any way. He just didn’t sound like the leader of a large cohesive community to me, and I’d like to find out more if we can”

Dani nodded and asked the other members of the conference for their input. Most were happy to take a wait and see approach with this newest community in Mexico especially as they were already actively engaging with two other communities in Canada who had also reached out. They didn’t want to stretch their human resources too thin trying to reach-out to communities that had made it clear they didn’t need or want help.

The Commander’s outreach package has been abundantly clear about their intent to offer humanitarian assistance to anyone who needed it. And if this new community in the Yucatan seemed not to want their assistance, their job was to move their resources on and try to find pockets of humanity that did.

Dani wasn’t about to force a relationship with a community that didn’t want one, but she also wanted Hector the autonomy to follow his gut on this.

“Once we complete our mission up in Dallas, I’ll task a few drones for you to surveill the Peninsula, but we are not to be seen, and we aren’t to disrupt or interfere with their community in any way before we assess what might be going on. I need you to find something more solid that your gut if we’re going to send anybody over there, okay?” She instructed.

Hector nodded.

“Until then, see if you can keep a casual dialogue going with Theo without being too intrusive. Maybe he’ll reveal something useful one way or another.”

“Sure thing, Commander.”

Dani nodded and stood to leave “Good luck Hector.”

“Good luck Commander. Major. Doctor.” Hector stood and extended his hand first to Dani, then to William and Evelyn. They all exchanged warm handshakes. “I expect to hear fantastical stories of exploration and success from Dallas through the grapevine.” He said with a smile, lightening the mood as they exited the conference room and made their way to their respective work areas.

***

**2033**

The war with Legion had been raging for almost ten years.

Dani Ramos was 34 and had been the Commander of the Resistance for seven long years.

Grace Harper was a 24-year-old high school science teacher in Seattle who had just applied to join the Resistance Medic Corps.

Ellie Harris was four years old.

She didn’t know much beyond the safety she felt in her parents embrace. She knew that her favourite food was dragon fruit, and fresh caught snapper fried with salt and wild garlic. Her favourite sound was ocean, and the noise of father’s decelerating two stroke motorcycle engine, because it meant he was arriving home and, each day, much to her endless delight, he would always scoop both her and her mother up and spin them around before planting kisses on both their lips. Her favourite time of day was bedtime because her parents would tuck her in snugly between them and tell her stories of their magical life in America. Her favourite colour was blue, because to her, it appeared in so many shades. It was the colour of her mother’s sapphire eyes, and it was the colour she saw when she looked out to the horizon where the baby blue of the sky would meet the azure blue of the Caribbean.

Her favourite activity was to play in the ever-changing pile of scrap behind their small home. Pretending to be a pirate, or a scavenger, or a builder. Spending endless hours making tools and toys out of the collection of metals, plastics, and countless materials she couldn’t name.

She knew that she didn’t like the man who came to their home once a month. She didn’t like how he smelled. Like sour fruit and smoke. He made her parents angry and afraid, which made her angry and afraid. He would always yell at her father, and as much as she tried not to, she would always cry and hide behind her mothers’ legs until he was gone.

She may have only been four, but she was bilingual, like most people where she lived. And she would always hear the name ‘ _ la serpiente’  _ spoken between them _. _

_ “you don’t want to cross la serpiente” or “la serpiente will be very displeased” “you have two days before la Serpiente pays you a visit!” _

She didn’t know what or who ‘la serpiente’ was, but she imagined a snake, as big as her house, angrily telling her parents what to do. In her childlike mind, snakes began to take on an even more frightening visage than normal.

But more than his treats of ‘la serpiente’ she hated that this man would steal her imaginary kingdom of metal each time he came. But thankfully the next day her father would go out and begin to replenish it just for her, or so she thought.

She didn’t remember the boat-ride that took her family away from their home in the dead of night. She’d been asleep. But she did remember waking up when the storm threw thunder and lightning down on-top of them and made their little boat tip and rock.

She remembered a bright light approaching them in the water, and the sound of a noisy engine, a sound very different to her fathers’ motorcycle. She remembered her mother passing her into a pair of very large hands high above her, she remembered one of those large hands grabbing hold of her mother below them before a wave washed over their small boat below and everything disappeared.

She didn’t understand where her father had gone, and she missed him terribly. For days she would look over the side of the noisy boat, searching for their smaller one, completely convinced that one day her father would sail up to them and climb aboard.

She didn’t know who the giant man with the grey hair was, or why he talked funny, and didn’t smile.

She didn’t know how to comfort her mother when she cried.

She didn’t get tucked into bed with fantastical stories anymore. But one night, her mother tucked her into bed and told her the truth of what had happened to her father. That he was not coming back, and that they would never be going home again.

She cried because her mother cried. She knew that she missed her father terribly, and she knew that it made her chest and her stomach hurt to the point where she couldn’t eat. She cried for what seemed like forever, but because she was only four and had no concept of forever, she was back on the deck, following the giant man around in a matter of days.

She learned that food could come from the inside of metal tins, and that it could almost taste like real food if she imagined hard enough.

After days of asking the strange, giant man questions, she finally learned that his name was Jacob, and that he was a fisherman. She found this fascinating and dreamed loudly and enthusiastically of the day he would catch her a fresh snapper for dinner.

She followed him around his noisy boat and asked endless questions about everything he did. Completely unaware of her mother’s gratitude towards this patient stranger who was helping distract her child from the grief of losing her father. 

Two nights later, Jacob presented a fresh caught snapper on the dinner table. An hour after that, her mother had it cleaned, scaled, seasoned and friend, ready to eat.

Ellie noticed that Jacob sat at the table with them, but he didn’t join in. that was fine with her, because that just meant there was more for her.

**2043**

The war with Legion had been raging for almost twenty years, ever since Judgement day in 2023.

Dani Ramos was 44 and had been the Commander of the Resistance for seventeen long years. She’d fallen in love for the first time in 2020 with a beautiful, stoic soldier from the future, and it wasn’t until a mere nine years ago that she fell in love for only the second time in her life. This time, with a beautiful, recalcitrant, army-medic trainee. A genetic identical to the soldier from two decades ago, but different in so many ways. She had finally declared her love a mere three years ago when that medic became gravely ill and underwent the Augmentation process. 

Together she and her soldier had fought and won several major battles, and eventually the great war with Legion in 2042. Toward the end of that year, she and her Augment soldier became engaged, but that year also tragically ripped them apart in ways she had never seen coming, which is to say something, because she’d seen most of the preceding two decades, including the love she would share with her soldier, coming long before it ever had.

Grace Harper was a 34-year-old solar technician living in Texas slowly beginning to build a new life in her new home. She had been told that she had been a skilled army medic and a decorated spec-ops Captain in her past. She had also been an Augment for the last 3 years. But she didn’t remember any of that. Her body bore the vivid scars of war, and it also carried the machinery and the enhanced capabilities of an Augment soldier, but her long-term memories were those of a 24-year-old high-school science teacher who used to live in Seattle and had just applied to be an army medic.

Ellie Harris is fourteen years old, but small for her age. She has a mop of curly dark hair like her mother, and deep brown eyes like her father.

She’d been living with Jacob for the last ten years. Scavenging for materials and food as a full-time job and picking up stray survivors when they came across them. She would also make frequent long-haul trips on his big noisy boat to Mexico’s eastern coastline, picking up escapees from Le Serpentines regime, carrying them across the gulf to relative safety in the small settlement they’d created in Jackson, Mississippi.

Well, really, it was Jacob who had done most of the work, even before she and her mother had come along. He’d been clearing and preparing living space for survivors for years before he found them. Clearing grazing land for livestock, preparing fields for farming, and hand building small solar-powered homesteads with which could be liveable one day. He’d built a small town of sorts hidden deep inside the small state park which was bordered on one side by the Pearl River, providing a supply of freshwater fish, and wildlife, and bordered on the other sides by old highways that nobody used anymore. Over the years he’d invited a few dozen misfit survivors to share it with him, and they all seemed content with his rule of keeping their little community a secret, and only he ever brought in new survivors to join them. 

Jacob said that he’d stumbled across Ellie’s family by accident during a long-haul trip he had been making to Honduras where he had lived before Judgement Day, a place where he had kept a safe-house of sorts, a stockpile of seeds and grain, coal, and metals. And of course, weapons. But when Honduras had been all but decimated in the judgement day attacks, he ventured across the Gulf of Mexico to more fertile land where he would hopefully find other survivors he could help.

When Ellie and her mother had first landed in Mississippi with Jacob. Word had reached them of a military organisation called the Resistance, led by somebody referred to as the Commander.

Jacob never explained what he had never sought help from the Resistance, nor had he ever sought to meet the Commander. And that was all the convincing that Ellie’s mother needed to refuse to seek out Resistance help herself. She feared that yet another militarised organisation, would just be a newer, possibly deadlier version of La Serpentine’s regime.

So they stayed with Jacob, joined his little encampment in Mississippi, and built a new home. And that’s how it remained for almost nine years. 

Ellie had learned Jacobs' secret the same day she lost her mother. She was almost 13 and had joined a large scavenging party which had ventured east into Alabama. They’d heard news that The Resistance had apparently destroyed Legion, and the lack of recent HK activity in the area had convinced them that the news was true. And they tentatively decided that it was safe to travel further east in search of new usable materials, seeds, livestock, and vehicles which might be refurbished or repurposed.

To their horror, the news of Legion’s destruction had been miscalculated at best, or exaggerated at worst, and their party was almost completely destroyed by a single Rev-9 who happened to be patrolling the highway west of Montgomery, Alabama.

Jacob signalled the alarm well before anybody had seen the machine, but unfortunately it was too late. And as weaponised as the group had been, it wasn’t until Jacob launched a military grade EMP at it that they managed to get away.

Unfortunately, Ellie's mother, along with half of their crew had taken on some form of injury, and Jacob himself had been pierced through and through several times, once while trying to shield Ellie and a second time while trying to protect her mother. He’d been successful the first time, pushing Ellie out of the way while his body took the blow, but the second time, Ellie watched in horror as the two most important people in her life were flung aside like rag dolls.

Jacob managed to pull himself to his feet again, but Ellie’s mother didn’t.

Jacob made it to the weapons cache at the back of his pick-up and loaded the EMP into the grenade launcher. Finally stopping the Rev-9 in its tracks.

And as the dust steeled, and Ellie ran to her dying mother, she noted that unlike the growing pool of red soaking the ground underneath her mother’s body. Jacob’s body appeared almost blood free, he was upright, and he was limping, but he was somehow alive.

It wasn’t until he reached down and gently lifted her mother into his arms that Ellie saw the exposed metal beneath his skin. The wires, and the leaking lubrication.

She recoiled in horror and tried to pull her mother free from him. Her adolescent brain convinced that despite his years of kindness and protection, he was somehow yet another of Legions many monsters, sent to infiltrate their settlement and kill them all.

But her mother had reached down and cupped her face, a gesture that had always calmed the young girl. She spoke to her in Spanish, something that had been rare and special between them, since it had been her fathers’ native tongue not hers. Her mother somehow knew that the importance of the moment would be conveyed through touch and language.

She had called Ellie by her full name, something she rarely did. She told her that Jacob had always been a friend, that he would take care of her, and that she must promise to trust him and try to listen to him. She then told her that she loved her, using a pet name that Ellie had adamantly declared she’d grown out of the year before.

_ “Elisabeth. Jacob es tu amigo. Confia en el. El ciudara de ti. Escuchalo a el. Te amo, mi gatita” _

That was the last thing her mother had ever said to her. And despite her horror, her grief and her confusion. Her stubbornness, and her innate sense of loyalty made it so that she quietly followed Jacob back to the vehicles where he gently laid her mother’s body inside the bed of one of the vans before gathering up the other injured or dead members of their community.

Their smaller group made a sombre procession back to their settlement where they buried their dead and they grieved.

Ellie watched over the days as Jacobs ‘wounds’ slowly healed over until all that was left were scars on his skin which she knew now wasn’t actually skin. He walked with a limp now, but otherwise he was just as strong and capable as he’d always been.

As much as Ellie wanted to run off into the forests, or better yet, run west, into Texas where she knew the Resistance had its own settlements, to face the feared Commander and demand retribution. She tried to keep a lid on her anger because of the promise she’d made to her mother.

It helped that Jacob was absolutely impervious to her outbursts and threats. She’d always thought that his demeanour seemed robotic, and now she knew it to be true. Not that it was a bad thing. He effortlessly balanced out her propensity for rash decisions and her fiery temper. He taught her to think things through logically. That patience, forethought and wisdom were just as powerful tools as rocket launchers, kill-boxes, and knives.

He infuriated her at times, but he never seemed phased by anything that came out of her mouth. Which was a good thing, because at fourteen, a lot of things had started coming out of her mouth. She was testing boundaries like never before and trying in new and inventive ways to bait her un-baitable guardian. 

He let her push her limits, and she slowly learned to identify the needlessly foolish risks from those that could be good teaching exercises. And he never failed to make sure that she learned everything she could from each experience. So, in essence, they were the perfect duo.

And so, that’s kind of what they became. A perfectly-odd duo. 

Jacob had taught her the basics of hunting and fighting strategy early, and he continued her tutelage. They resided in the Jackson settlement for approximately eight months of the year, and the rest of the time they spent on ventures together to scavenge, to perform reconnaissance along the eastern states to find evidence of more Legion activity, and at least once every few months, they’d take out his noisy boat and slowly skirt the coast of the Yucatan, looking for more refugees trying to find a life away from La Serpentine and his goons.

Jacobs enhancements allowed them identify and avoid any type of rudimentary weaponry on shore, while still being able to scan for heat signatures of people making their way to them. They’d usually pick up at least four or five wet and tired escapees before they’d head back to The States. Jacob said that it was a poor use of time and fuel to rescue so few people, but to Ellie, each one of them represented her family, so she ignored his opposition and simply declared that they would make the trip each season.

Ellie had never managed to convince her mother to share stories of La Serpentine with her. She only knew that anyone who lived anywhere near what used to be the international playground of Cancun, was now under his ‘protection’. But they paid a high price for that protection. They paid in resources which were already so scarce, sometimes in blood, and sometimes in children who were taken to become part of the militia, or to work in large factories he’d constructed to repurpose all those metals, minerals and fuel into usable products and parts for vehicles, factories, homes, and weapons.

Ellie tried to pry more information from the refugees they rescued, but to her surprise, almost all of their stories were the same as her mothers had been. That they worked like slaves to grow or scavenge food, metal, minerals, and fuel for La Serpentine. But that nobody had ever seen him. Nobody knew what he looked like, or where his stronghold was. And he would always send militia members out to collect his so-called taxes.

This made her angrily remember the sour smelling man who would come and cart away her mountain of magical play material every month, and it made her even more determined to try and convince Jacob that they needed to actually do something meaningful about what was happening in her parents’ home. They needed to find more people and more weapons and plan for a proper rescue mission one day.

Today they had been on the road for hours, travelling west on a scavenging mission, just across the Texas border, having a frustratingly practical debate about just how to conduct such a rescue mission when Jacob spotted a lone van travelling the adjacent highway carrying several solar panels.

The panels in their own settlement were in desperate need of repair, and Ellie agreed that taking a few from a mammoth operation like the Resistance would cause little to no harm, so she let Jacob plan his theft.

“But nobody gets hurt, okay?” Ellie said.

Jacob simply nodded and drove their vehicle to a rise that intersected with the highway.

“Wait here.” He ordered and got out of their van.

Ellie watched through the rear-view mirror as a tall woman emerged from the van. She watched them have a very brief interaction, including a small scuffle before the woman was on her knees on the ground on the verge of having her neck snapped by Jacobs large arm. Elli gasped and bolted out of the passenger seat, demanding that Jacob release her, which he promptly did before casually moving towards the coveted solar panels to begin loading them onto their vehicle.

Ellie approached the prone woman and apologised. “I’m sorry lady. We need those more than you do, but still, he shouldn’t have hurt you.”

She moved closer to the fallen woman who was clearly teetering on unconsciousness, and crouched low, making sure that she was breathing and that nothing appeared broken or irreparably damaged. It was then that she noticed the vivid white scars on the woman’s arms and neck, and when she followed those scars to her face she caught her breath as a pair of sapphire blue eyes locked onto hers for a second. Eyes that instantly brought an image of her mother to her mind, and Ellie couldn’t help but reach out to the woman and touch her cheek lightly.

“Ellie.” Jacobs' voice called out and she turned around “Let’s go.”

“Coming.” She called back before looking back at the face of the woman again.

“You’re pretty.” She observed softly, almost as a thought to herself, her mother’s eyes so clearly reflected back at her, and with them, images of her beautiful face. 

She pushed herself up and went to their van, and pulled out a canteen and an orange, she took out her pocket knife and etched the work “sorry” into the metal before going back to the now unconscious woman and placing the water and the food next to her.

“Ellie.” Jacob said almost impatiently, except that he was incapable of impatience.

“Coming.” She called back again, and trotted back to their van.

“You didn’t need to hurt her Jacob.” Ellie admonished.

He didn’t answer immediately but when he did, his words surprised her.

“She’s made from parts of a Rev, Ellie. Stronger than a human, but still definitely human.”

“You mean that she’s part machine?!” Ellie almost squeaked and looked back through the rear-view mirror at the unconscious woman. “Is she Legion?”

“Yes, she’s part machine, and no she is not Legion.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because I heard the radio transmissions from her vehicle. She is part of something called Prosperitas.”

“So, what is she? Is she like a worker drone or something the Resistance sends to do dangerous work this far east instead of real humans?”

“I don’t believe so. Her power-source is a thorium reactor, and her skeleton has legion nanotech in it. But her body is still mostly organic. She has a heart and a brain, lungs and a digestive tract. When she fought me, she was trying to protect the solar panels. She had human emotions, and human limitations. But I didn’t pick up on any kind of remote signals she might have been controlled under. I didn’t sense hesitation from her at all.”

Ellie had spent a decade distrusting anything the Resistance did. And to find out that they were turning humans into machines both angered and alarmed her. Could these things be used against her own settlement? If they were still human, were they being used against their will?

“We need to wait and watch what happens to her Jacob.”

“No.” he answered simply.

“I wasn’t asking.” She replied just as simply. “We can hang back, and you can use your super-vision to track where they take her. I want to know if there are more like her, and what the Resistance, or Prosperitas, or whatever they’re called, are using them for.

Jacob didn’t answer, he simply turned on the ignition and drove the van to a ridge a kilometre away where they waited and watched.

****

Grace threw a leg over her furbished, 30 year old KTM 450, and felt a moment of immense pride in her new mode of transport. That pride surged with adrenaline as she pressed the ignition and the large four stroke engine rumbled to life. 

She had salvaged the machine over a month ago from an airport parking lot in Lafayette. I was under a dust cover and in pristine condition except that it needed new tyres, a new fuel pump, new sparks, oil and air filters, and the exhaust needed replacing.

Her mechanic friends in the fleet vehicle crew had helped her with the more technical parts of the restoration, in exchange for promises of being able to take her new beast out on test runs in the near future.

It was certainly a unique beast of a bike, perfectly suited to her tall frame and her weight. It’s six speed, 51 horsepower engine was capable of doing almost 200 kilometres per hours, or close to 120 miles per hour. It was basically feather light, weighing in at 100 kilograms, or 240 pounds, which meant that she could literally pick it up if she needed to, should it ever become bogged, or tip over. It’s seat height was almost 100cm, or 40 inches, which fit her perfectly, and it’s firm but forgiving rally bred suspension was capable of carrying her added Augment weight without reducing too much of the ground clearance, meaning it was perfectly designed to handle rough terrain. This bike was designed to both climb and descent at near vertical angles, so with it she could traverse virtually any landscape. She would ride on both sealed and unsealed roads with ease, she could explore forested areas, muddy banks and shallow waterways, sand dunes, and hilly mountainsides. 

She could traverse 66 miles per gallon, which meant that a standard full tank could take her close to 160 miles or 260 kilometres before needing to refuel. This didn’t seem like much, but with the help of the engineering team, she managed to retrofit a larger tank, and add a secondary tank to a purpose-built rack which had been welded to the chassis. This increased her exploration ability to close to 350 miles or 560 kilometres. Which meant that she could theoretically ride from Laredo to Houston, or traverse the entire width of Alabama into Georgia, before ever needing to refuel.

However, the bio-fuel that all their non-solar, and hybrid vehicles operated on now wasn’t simply available at any old gas station these days. So, she resigned herself to the fact that she’d still need to load her bike, her luggage, and a barrel of fuel onto her trusty solar-powered pickup and drive it as far as she could before jumping aboard her new wheels and exploring the ’fun way’. She’d have to be strategic about how far she travelled on each trip, limiting each venture to no more than 165 miles to allow for the return trip, because running out of fuel in Texas, was a very different conundrum to running out of fuel in Mississippi or Alabama or Florida even.

She glanced down at her modified fuel gauge and noted that she was currently only 80 miles into her latest trip and settled herself into her seat.

She’d risen at the crack of dawn and headed to the stretch of highway where she’d been accosted by the terminator, intent on seeing if she could find a trail or some evidence pointing her in the direction of where he might have driven to.

She knew it wasn’t the wisest decision, but she also knew that he’d left her alive the first time, and that Dani believed that he may even be a potential ally. Truth be told, her pride had taken a bruising, and she also wanted to test her metal again, to make sure she wouldn’t back down if faced with him again. The quickest way to overcome a fear, was to face it. Or so she told herself. 

She guiltily remembered the half promise she’d made to Dani yesterday, to try and stay out of trouble, and reflexively pulled harder on the throttle, distancing herself even further from Texas and any real or imagined obligations. She’d been knocked out by the terminator along the old i45 not far from Houston, so after driving that stretch of road for over an hour tryign to pick up heat signatures, or tyre treads, she deducted that the most logical direction they would have headed was due east at Beaumont, so she drove across the border into Louisiana before parking and jumping onto her bike and traversing the old i10 further east into Louisiana. 

It was early afternoon, and getting close to her 165-mile limit and so far her searching had uncovered nothing. But her disappointment was constantly being overshadowed by the sheer beauty and the sheer devastation of the landscapes around her. She’d just driven through the old city of Baton Rouge and as tempting as it was to continue on to New Orleans, she veered off the highway and pulled over into a town called Burnside where she found a beautiful spot, on an old wooden jetty at the back of a large plantation property, that dropped off into the Mississippi river.

She pulled out her packed lunch and happily ate as she observed the abundant wildlife, accessing her RD to use her zoom capabilities to take in all the minute but magical details of the flocks of Gulls, Kites, and Parakeets. She finished her food and lay back on the dock, watching the sun filter through the overgrown willows above her, not fully realising when the dappled lighting effect tipped her into an almost trance like sleep.

She hadn’t heard the approaching vehicle in the distance, but she did hear the distinct creak of the wooden boarding on the jetty and was instantly upright and awake. Her eyes flashing iridescent blue as her Augments surged to life in a self-preservation instinct. 

She was shocked to see not only the terminator standing on the jetty behind her, but also the dark-haired girl who had been with him the first time.

Her RD flicked to life and she identified the girl as human, and again took in the terminator and cursed herself for falling asleep. She tried to calculate how fast she’d need to move to get across the wide jetty without being intercepted and realised that she couldn’t. She then tried to assess how quickly she could swim across the river, before realising that she’d be stranded without a radio, her medication, or vehicle.  _ ‘fuck!’ _

“We aren’t going to hurt you.” The girl spoke and held out her hands.

Grace found herself taken aback by the maturity in the girl's voice, and also by the way this child was trying to deescalate the situation.

She looked at the terminator, who lifted a brow and tilted his head in agreeance.

“She’s telling the truth.” He said simply.

“Call me mistaken, but it was your arm around my neck the last time we met wasn’t it?” She asked incredulously.

The terminator shrugged again “Yes. But I’m not what you think I am.” 

“I know you’re a machine. What do you want?” Grace asked as plainly as she could. 

“After Jacob hurt you, we followed you. We just wanted to make sure that you were okay, lady.” the girl spoke.

“Grace, my name is Grace.” She corrected.

“Okay, Grace. My name is Ellie, and this is Jacob. We followed you to Laredo, and then back here to make sure you weren’t being held against your will and that you weren’t harmed in any way.”

Grace made her confusion clear. “What on earth do you mean, and exactly who are you?”

“Who we are isn’t important.” Jacob replied. “Ellie wanted to make sure that you weren’t being harmed, and that you were acting of your own free will.”

Grace simply blinked, not understanding at all.

“You aren’t a legion machine, that’s clear, but you also aren’t completely human” Jacob answered bluntly before Ellie jumped in, seeing Grace’s hackles rise at the mention of her maybe being a machine. 

“So you can see our dilemma. We wanted to ensure you weren’t being held against your will by the Resistance. And once it became clear that you weren’t, we decided to follow you to see what exactly it was you were doing out here.”

“What on earth …?” Grace shook her head not understanding much of what they were saying. “Why?”

“Because you’re like us.” Ellie answered quickly.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re searching.” She said simply 

“Searching?” Grace questioned. 

“Yes. For a place you belong, for a home, for a family maybe?” She shrugged. “I’m not sure what it is exactly, but even though it’s clear that you chose to be in Texas, it’s not really your home is it? You’re restless, and you’re searching.”

Despite the words pummelling her hard in the chest with the weight of truth behind them, Grace still scoffed. Her brows furrowed and she crossed her arms.

“How old are you Ellie?”

“I told her you’d find it ridiculous.” Jacob commented.

“Jacob!” Ellie snapped and looked over her shoulder at him then turned back to Grace and straightened her spine, jutted out her chin, and crossed her own arms to mimic the tall woman in front of her.

“I’m 14. Why?” 

“What is a fourteen-year-old child doing out in the middle of nowhere with a terminator?” 

“A what?” Ellie asked in confusion.

“It’s what machines like me used to be called a very long time ago, Ellie.” Jacob stated.

Ellie shrugged and turned back to Grace. 

“I’m not a child.” Ellie said definitely. “I’ve been through more than most girls my age.”

Grace felt an odd sense of DeJa’Vu wash over her as she recalled having said similar words to somebody in her past, but she couldn't remember to whom.

“I don’t doubt that Ellie.” Grace answered and relaxed her posture. Her Augments telling her that she wasn’t in any immediate danger. 

“Jacob and I have a home together with other survivors. We scavenge for what we need, and we help people who need our help.” Ellie elaborated.

Grace smiled at the simplicity of her explanation. She turned to the tall terminator named Jacob and arched an eyebrow. 

“And you?” She asked.

“I am a T800 terminator, model designation 101, built by Skynet. I was sent here in 1991 from the future to stop the leader of the Resistance.”

Grace frowned. Dani wouldn’t have even been born in 1991. 

“Which Resistance?” 

“The one led by John Connor, in my timeline.”

“And what happened?” 

“I was one of several terminators sent back to hunt John Connor. I made my way to Guatemala, but another terminator carried out the mission before I did. So when that mission was over, I had no further directives, I had no purpose. I was free. So I made my purpose preparing for the coming apocalypse.”

“Rather than stopping it.” Grace quipped. 

“Yes.” He replied simply. Logically. “It was always unstoppable.”

“When judgment day happened, I found a new purpose in trying to rebuild humanity in a way that Skynet wouldn’t view as a threat. But then I discovered that it was no longer Skynet’s future, but Legions, and they had different directives, different motives, and a different endgame. So I started building a place survivors could live free from the fear of the machines. Live off the land, off the grid, and remain unseen by Legion.” 

Grace paused for a moment, trying to ascertain the sincerity in his words.

“You do know that that's essentially been the entire mission of the last twenty-year war that the Resis … Prosperitas has had with Legion, right?”

“So, The Resistance is Prosperitas?” Ellis asked and Grace nodded. 

“You can see the inherent problem with a future killing machine, an infiltrator for the last 50 years, seeking an alliance with a military organisation whose sole purpose is to destroy killing machines like me?” 

Grace could only agree with a slight nod of her head. 

“Why did you attack me and take those panels?” She asked.

“I told Jacob that he wasn't to hurt you. But we weren't expecting you to be … actually what are you?”

Grace frowned and answered slightly indignantly. “I’m human, just enhanced.” 

“Right. Well, Jacob wasn’t expecting you to be enhanced. So we’re sorry about that. But our community is in desperate need of new panels, and the Resistance … or .. .Prosperitas seems to have those in abundance. 

Grace nodded. “For future reference, all you need to do next time is ask.” she began to move past the girl and Jacob. “The Commander had made it clear that all Prosperitas resources are to be shared with anyone in need. She wants alliances with human settlements as much as she wants to war with Legion to be over.” 

Ellie scoffed “The Commander can go to hell.” 

Grace swung around, fire in her eyes, and Ellie found herself shrinking under the tall woman’s’ angry blue gaze. 

Jacob took a step forward. 

“Don’t judge her until you meet her Ellie.” She said simply and stood up straight again. Brushing past the two relative strangers and making her way to her bike. 

“Grace .. '' Ellie called out as the tall woman climbed aboard her motorcycle. 

“Don’t worry Ellie. I won’t tell the Commander I met you or Jacob again, but I do hope that you’ll reach out if you need assistance. I know for a fact that the Commander really wants to meet Jacob and talk to him about his presence here and I really don’t think either of you has anything to fear from her.”

“Will we see you again?” Ellie asked, and Grace could see the look of hope in her eyes. 

“Tell me where and when, and I can promise that I’ll try.” Grace replied. 

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Jacob interjected. 

“Three days from now, midday at a town called Monroe, on the old i20 east of Dallas?” 

Grace grinned and nodded. “I’ll be there.” 

“How can we reach you?” Ellie asked. 

“We haven’t got to that stage in our relationship yet Ellie. I still don’t know if I can trust you, or him” she gestured to Jacob. “I don’t really know your intentions, and I won’t put Prosperitas in danger for the sake of curiosity.” 

Ellie almost pouted and Grace had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling. 

“Kay” Ellie nodded eventually. “Three Days.” 

“Three Days.” Grace agreed, and gunned the engine on her bike, before spinning the rear wheel in a half circle and taking off down the road at full speed.

Her insides were trembling from adrenaline and excitement, but she had inadvertently succeeded in doing what she’d set out to do today, and it had worked out better than she could have imagined. If her plans worked out, she could begin building a rapport with Ellie and her protector Jacob, and hopefully either draw out more of his story, or even convince him to meet with Dani so she could ascertain the truth behind his motives. 

Her gut told her that a terminator will not have spent over 50 years assimilating with and eventually protecting humans if it had nefarious motives. But she also knew that infiltrators had a different level of commitment when it came to carrying out missions. So they needed to determine what his actually were.

One thing she knew for sure was that her mission was to protest Prosperitas. And that’s what she’d do no matter what. 

***

It was late afternoon as Dani flew over eastern Texas in the Dragonfly carrying her, William, Evelyn, Dr Alvarez, and a few other members of the crew over to the new Dallas outpost. She watched the landscape below, lost in her own thoughts, until her attention was drawn to an old blue pickup-truck, parked near the rise where Grace had encountered the terminator. 

Her guts began to churn uncomfortably because she knew the truck belonged to Grace. She’d seen her and Alex leave in it the night of the Laredo barbecue. 

She noted the fuel barrel, the metal ramps, the straps, and the camping gear packed in the back of the truck, and she sighed heavily. Certain that Grace was using her furlough to explore the territory east of where she had been accosted the day before.

“Hadrell, can you task a drone to this location and send it east as far as New Orleans if possible?” 

“Commander.” he nodded in acknowledgement and got on his radio. 

She knew that drones had already been sent out to track for heat signatures without success, but perhaps this one would come across the heat signature of a certain heard-headed Augment who had ventured into unprotected territory. An action that could lead to anything from a warning, a fine, or censure if she deemed it necessary. And as her frustration, born of concern, built, she was inclined to request Grace’s immediate presence in Dallas when she was found, and reprimand her in person. 

She sighed heavily and sat back in her seat. Pinching the bridge of her nose as a headache began to build. 

_ ‘Will our paths ever not cross?’  _ she asked herself in resigned frustration. ‘Will she ever not get herself into trouble?’ 

*** 


End file.
